Avian Expert Articles

Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Alex’s Numerical Abilities — Part I

May 18, 2022 by Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.

I recently gave a talk that reviewed Alex’s numerical abilities and realized that I had never discussed this issue in a blog. The material is far from new, but worth reviewing because Alex’s number studies were unique in several ways.

Not only was he the only nonhuman who used vocal labels (rather than, for example, a point to a specific group or Arabic numeral), but he was also trained in a very unusual manner. And he outperformed some of the other nonhumans on certain tasks as well. I’m not going to discuss all of Alex’s numerical abilities here. That would make this blog as long as a book chapter! But I’ll start the process this month; as the saying goes,“to be continued!”

Alex’s ability to vocally produce his number labels gave us certain advantages. First, we didn’t have to control for inadvertent cuing, such as somehow indicating which numeral he should choose from amongst a physical set (the ape studies were extremely careful, but they did have to include these controls). Second, because he could say anything he wanted — even non-number labels, for example. We could find out a bit more about exactly how he was processing information. This is something I’ll discuss briefly below and more in subsequent blogs.

How We Learn Numbers

When children learn their numbers, they start with the label “1.” Usually, they are about 2 years old before they begin to understand the concept of “1” versus “many.” It takes about another nine months before they understand “1” versus “2” versus “many,” and another five months to add “3” (see Carey, 2009). Around that time, they also begin to repeat a number line in order (e.g., can list their numerals, often well beyond “3”). At first, they don’t generally say them in the correct order.

However, even when they get the order correct, they understand the line about as well as they understand their ABCs at that point. They think LMNOP is one letter. They learned what is essentially a rote phrase. A few months later, about the time they add “4,” they gain a critical insight: They recognize the connection between their number line and the numeral labels they have learned to associate with quantity. They realize that each successive numeral in the number list is exactly one more than its predecessor (Carey, 2009). They then quickly understand what the next numbers in the list mean, and no longer have to be taught each number in turn.

Alex, however, did not learn his numbers this way!

Alex’s Unique Approach To Numbers

black objects on a tray
Figure 1: Objects set in a random array. Image courtesy Dr. Irene Pepperberg

We started training Alex on “3” and “4,” because he already knew something about those labels. He already knew to identify a triangle as “3-corner” and a square as “4-corner.” Thus, he could already pronounce those labels. He probably understood something about their relationship to the quantities of corners (if nothing else, that the square had more “corners” than the triangle).

It took him a few months of Model/Rival training to transfer use of these labels to a few sets of objects. We then had to test him on novel sets, so that he couldn’t be responding based on things like mass, density, or contour. In order to claim he was answering with respect to number, he had to be able to identify three big pieces of wood as well as three small pieces of paper, and do the same even for objects for which he had no labels! The labels “3” and “4” had to mean the same thing for every possible set of items.

Adding To Alex’s Numerical Abilities

We then taught him “2” and “5”— one more and one less than the numbers he knew. It took him two months to learn “2” and six months to learn “5.” The “f” and “v” sounds are difficult for parrots, because they don’t have lips. At first, his attempts sounded too much like “hide.” (BTW: Griffin refuses to learn “5,” probably for the same reason!)

We then introduced “1” and “6.” It took another two months for him to learn “6.” Interestingly, it took over a year for him to learn “1.” It seemed that he didn’t understand why it was necessary. He had always been able to obtain a single object by just saying its label. Insisting that he now add a number label appeared to confuse him — even though the question was “How many?” instead of “What’s here?” He had previously, occasionally made what we called  “generic” errors on other numbers when he gave us only the label of the object in response to “How many?” For “1,” the problem at first was not occasional! It took quite a bit of training to get him to attend to what we wanted.

We didn’t start training him on “7” and “8” for many years, because we were doing many other studies. He learned “8” almost immediately, because he knew how to say the label “grate.” The label “7” took about a year. He kept saying “sss-one,” again omitting that difficult “v” sound. I’ll come back to “7” and “8” next time. Those numbers were part of a very important, separate study (Pepperberg & Carey, 2012).

Exploring Nonhuman, Numerical Abilities

We had really good data early on that Alex had acquired an exact understanding of his number labels “1” through “6” (Pepperberg, 1987). He responded just like two apes, Sheba (Boysen & Berntson, 1989) and Ai (Matsuzawa, 1985), who had also learned the meaning of these Arabic numerals. Thus these three nonhumans had done something far beyond what other nonhumans had achieved. Most nonhumans (and children before they actually learn their number labels) have a limited understanding of quantity; they engage in something called the “approximate number system” or ANS (see Halberta & Feigenson, 2008).

Specifically, almost every nonhuman studied can demonstrate exact numerical understanding of “1,” “2,” and “3,” but then get fuzzy at the larger numbers. When asked to identify “4,” for example, they confuse the quantity with “3” and “5.” And as the numbers get larger, they make more mistakes and the range of errors widens, too. If asked to identify “8,” they not only often confuse it with “7” and “9” but also with “6” and “10.” Thus, they understand only “approximately 8.” When Alex and the two apes erred, their errors were usually random, caused by lack of attention, rather than produced as an approximation.

three keys and two corks lay on a tray
Figure 2: Subsets of objects. Image courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

Proving Alex Understood

Of course, to be certain that Alex really did understand his numbers, we had to eliminate other confounds in addition to mass, density, and contour. We thus made sure he could identify objects in random arrays (see Figure 1), so that he wasn’t recognizing a pattern (think of dominoes or dice, or triangles and squares). And we also needed to show that he could identify subsets (e.g., “How many cork?” versus “How many key?” Figure 2): Young children who don’t quite understand their numbers cannot separate out subsets (Greeno et al., 1984; Siegel, 1982). We also had to ensure that, unlike some nonhumans who understood large numbers only approximately, Alex wasn’t doing something like clumping small groups he could recognize with the ANS (e.g., learn that two groups of 3 were “6” without actually understanding “6″). We, therefore, gave him a complex task given to humans (see Figure 3, Trick & Pylyshyn, 1989).

red balls, blue ball, read beads, blue beads lay on a tray
Figure 3: Multiple objects defined by multiple attributes. Image courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

The researchers performing the study determined that humans couldn’t use a clumping mechanism and the ANS when asked to identify the number of a subset of objects defined by multiple attributes in a very complicated array (e.g., “How many blue wood?” versus “How many blue wool?” versus “How many red wood?” versus “How many red wool?”, Figure 3), but always had to perform an exact quantification for every set.

If Alex were, like the humans, unable to clump in order to use the ANS, he would have made more errors on the larger numbers and his errors would always have been labels that were close to the correct response — but that wasn’t the case! He was just as accurate on the large as the small numbers, and his errors were random (Pepperberg, 1994). So, we had clear evidence that Alex could produce the correct number label in the presence of a corresponding set of objects. That was a big step in learning about his number sense.

However, you’ll notice that throughout this article, I never use the word “count” or “counting.” The reason is that counting is a very special ability, much more complicated than just being able to label sets of objects — something that I’ll discuss next time.

References

Boysen, S. T. and Berntson, G. G. (1989). Numerical competence in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 103, 23–31.

Carey, S. (2009). The Origin of Concepts. New York: Oxford University Press.

Greeno, J. G., Riley, M. S. & Gelman, R. (1984). Conceptual competence and children’s counting. Cognitive Psychology, 16, 94–143.

Halberda, J., & Feigenson, L. (2008). Developmental change in the acuity of the ‘‘number sense’’: The approximate number system in 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds and adults. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1457–1465.

Matsuzawa, T. (1985). Use of numbers by a chimpanzee. Nature, 315, 57–59.

Pepperberg, I. M. (1987). Evidence for conceptual quantitative abilities in the African Grey parrot: labeling of cardinal sets. Ethology, 75, 37–61.

Pepperberg, I. M. (1994). Evidence for numerical competence in an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 108, 36–44.

Pepperberg, I. M. & Carey, S. (2012). Grey parrot number acquisition: the inference of cardinal value from ordinal position on the numeral list. Cognition, 125, 219–232.

Siegel, L. S. (1982). The development of quantity concepts: perceptual and linguistic factors. In Children’s Logical and Mathematical Cognition, ed. C. J. Brainerd. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 123–155.

Trick, L. & Pylyshyn, Z. (1989). Subitizing and the FNST spatial index model. University of Ontario, Ontario, Canada, COGMEM #44.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Great Green Macaws Of Costa Rica

May 11, 2022 by Ann Brooks

It’s a good time to revisit the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN) because it’s spring, and the great green macaw chicks are hatching in the MRN breeding facility as well as their native nests, which are largely found in the endangered Mountain Almond tree. Creating successful offspring is a slow, challenging process for wild macaws. They usually lay three to five eggs, with the expectation that only one to three will be fertile and actually fledge successfully. For a critically endangered species like the great greens, every egg matters!

great green macaw chicks lying on paper towels in bowl
Great green macaw chicks. Image courtesy of the Macaw Recovery Network

The Macaw Recovery Network monitors eggs for viability, standing ready to assist those parents who need help. They first candle the eggs to determine fertility, and, if a breeding pair lays more than three fertile eggs or needs help, the eggs are moved to foster parents just prior to hatching. This helps maximize the total number of chicks that may succeed to fledging during the breeding season.

From “Foster Care” to Family Reunion

This year, two couples in the breeding facility laid more than three eggs (Harry/Cooper and Paul/Rio). Both couples needed help so some of the eggs were moved to experienced foster parents. However, the pair named Chicken/Duck were able to raise all three chicks on their own. When foster parents are able to feed the chick successfully, they will grow and start exploring outside the nest at about three months. Once they are weaned by their foster parents at about 6 to 8 months of age, the chicks are reunited with their siblings. How great is that!?

three great green macaws perch on branch
Image courtesy of the Macaw Recovery Network

There are only an estimated 1,000 critically endangered great green macaws currently left in the wild, 300 of which are in Costa Rica, so the species needs extra help to rebound and build their numbers. Despite obstacles for funding and staffing during the pandemic, MRN still plans to release 28 juvenile great green macaws and 14 scarlet macaw juveniles in 2022. These reintroductions aim to restore populations to areas where those species have gone extinct. We will follow this project and let you know in a few months how the releases go and how the birds are faring in their native habitats.

wild great green macaw flying
Image courtesy of the Macaw Recovery Network

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes to help with assessments of the juveniles soon to be released, to ensure each individual bird is a suitable candidate for a life in the wild. If you would also like to help, you can make a donation to the Macaw Recovery Network at https://macawrecoverynetwork.org/

 

Lost African Grey Parrot’s Return Home Brings Joy To Her Special Human Friend

May 4, 2022 by Matt Rowe
African grey parrot sits on food bowl
Image courtesy Zara Williams

Every parrot owner has feared the escape of their beloved bird. The sequence of opening a door or window, the sudden flap of wings by an inquisitive bird, and the movement of air as the bird flies past you and into the wide, borderless world of adventure and answers can be frightful.

For some, the ending is filled with sadness as the bird they have loved and nurtured disappears forever into that big world. But many have been lucky in that the bird comes back or is found in neighboring locales and successfully retrieved.

This is the harrowing story of Precious, the parrot belonging to the family of Zara Williams and, more specifically, to her 10-year-old autistic daughter, Erin.

Precious In So Many Ways

girl holds bird toys
10-year-old Erin was thrilled to have African grey parrot Precious back at home. Image courtesy Zara Williams

Erin had deeply bonded with Precious, an African grey parrot that the family acquired four years earlier as a companion bird for the family. But as things happen, it was Erin who began to spend a lot of her time with Precious, unlocking a connection that would help each other in many ways.

Erin and Precious talk with each other frequently. For the family, Precious is highly important to Erin’s emotional state. Being autistic has kept Erin close to herself without speaking much to her surrounding family. But Precious has given Erin a sense of trust, a feeling that she can freely chat and communicate with a friend. Precious has attached to that trust and is often found in the company of Erin.

This attachment underscores the power of emotional support animals and creatures like Precious, who amply supply a wealth of comfort to their owners that may be difficult to discover elsewhere. This strong bond would soon lead to an intense concern as Precious would experience a “moment” in the outer world.

Unexpected Wind Leads To Unexpected Flight

African grey parrot naps on t-stand
Back home safe, Precious the African grey parrot takes a nap. Image courtesy Zara Williams

One day, Precious was taken out onto the family deck to enjoy some of the nice outdoor weather. A gusty instant knocked the cage over, dislodging the latch. In the whirlwind of a frantic second, Precious was outside the cage with a world of possibilities wholly dependent on her decision to stay or take flight. She flew into the unknown.

For two full days and nights, Precious was gone, leaving a grieving child behind. But, as luck would have it, Precious, who was injured in her time away from the safety of her home, was discovered by another family in the next village. Precious was found near their garage shed and in need of immediate attention, which the family provided her. The family then reviewed Facebook for nearby pleas of help in locating the wandering bird.

The Williams family was located and contacted, and they immediately retrieved Precious, reuniting an extremely distraught but now happy child with the bird that has provided her with so much friendship. She had shed tears of happiness that her friend would be returning to her.

There are many instances of emotional support animals that provide comfort. Many animals are trained to go an extra step with aid. But an inner connection can never be taught. That comes naturally. With Erin and Precious, their connection is what makes the world go around. We’re overjoyed that Erin and Precious are once again together.

The Bird-Watching Bracket — 64 Birds Whittled Down To One Winner

April 27, 2022 by Matt Rowe
close up on face and shoulders of a steller's sea eagle standing and leaning forward with beak open and wings raised a bit
The Steller’s Sea-Eagle won Bird Watching Magazine’s bracket contest, as the bird most birders wished to see. Photo by Kevinsphotos/Pixabay

One of the thrills of the sporting world is the time-honored ability for folks who enjoy the predictive to guess what the outcome will be. For football, there are the annual office pools. For the Vegas-minded gambler, there’s the pick between matchups. And for basketball, and especially college basketball, there is the bracket. The bracket takes a large grouping of achievers into a 64-team playoff series and attempts a broad scope of predictive skills selects right down to the ultimate winning team. The hope is that the board falls in line with the selections on any individual bracket. Now, that challenge has spread to the world of birding.

Birding’s Bracket

In early March (coinciding with the NCAA basketball tournaments) Bird Watching Magazine, a bimonthly publication that caters to bird-watchers and lovers of all ages and scope, created a bracket to discover which bird in the wilds of the United States and Canada is the most desired to be encountered. They gathered 64 birds within four categories of species. These birds are elusive and are not easily seen in the wild. The result determined which of the 64 birds is the one that most birders hope to see cross their path in 2022.

The four categories included Raptors and Owls; Songbirds; Seabirds and Waterbirds; and the all-inclusive Everyone Else category. The bracket ran in rounds, with readers asked to vote on Facebook and Instagram posts by clicking on birds. The bracket ran through several rounds with the most selected birds being included in each round. As birds “won,” they were moved into the next bracket for the next period.

By April 1, the bird most selected was the Steller’s Sea-Eagle. It won the overall placement with 58% of the vote, more than edging out the number two selection, the Blue-Footed Booby, who took second with a whopping 42% of the votes.

The Steller’s Sea-Eagle is a large raptor. Weighing in at around 15 to 20 pounds, it has a startling appearance. The Sea-Eagle is considered “Vulnerable” in the threat category, numbering at around only 5,000 remaining in the wild. Of course, this is a grave concern and work is being done to increase their numbers. The Sea-Eagle can be seen in the United States and Canada, but these locations are not the bird’s usual locations. Recent sightings include one certain Sea-Eagle in eastern Canada in 2021, then in Massachusetts, and Maine, also in 2021. The same bird was later seen in Maine in March of 2022, and then Nova Scotia in early April. However, its usual range includes Japan, South Korea, and eastern Russia.

Should Bird Watching Magazine do this fun-filled bracket again in 2023, and you want to participate, be sure to sign up for the magazine’s newsletter. The twice-weekly newsletter is not only informative and leads to all kinds of fun but is also designed to keep readers in touch with various co-operative events like the annual East Coast World Series of Birding, where teams of bird-watchers scramble to identify as many birds sighted as they can. As they enjoy this event, money is also being raised to help conservation efforts for the birds of that region.

Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Hatchday Celebrations — Updated!

April 20, 2022 by Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
two African grey parrots eating treats on a table
Happy hatch-date to you! African grey parrots Griffin and Athena co-celebrate their hatch-date anniversaries by digging into their individual banerry-corknut cakes, which are made mostly of apples, almond flour, and ground almonds. Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

All labs have a distinct culture. The best labs have a culture of cooperation — everyone working together for a common goal. Of course, it is impossible for harmony to reign 100% of the time, but the idea is to have any problems or issues resolved quickly and appropriately. Our birds are very sensitive to the “mental atmosphere” of the lab, and one way of keeping them happy is to keep lab members happy. (Note that the same is true for birds living in a home — if the household is unhappy, the parrots are likely to feel unsafe and reflect the tension in their behavior patterns.)

Through the years, I’ve learned that one of the best ways to attain and maintain a positive lab culture is to have fun activities in which everyone can participate. Some labs manage that through holiday and end-of-term parties; others through celebrating birthdays or events like having a grant funded or a paper published.

In my own labs, which over the years have relied almost exclusively on undergraduates rather than graduate students and post-doctoral fellows (a much more common situation), arranging something like a lab party is almost impossible. With all the various classes and extracurricular commitments in which a typical undergraduate is involved, simply scheduling times for them to work with the parrots is itself a major challenge. Anything beyond that just isn’t manageable. Thus, we’ve often relied on very simple things, like having coffee and tea available for students all day, and snacks that reflect whatever holiday is relevant (e.g., Valentine’s Day candies, etc.)

There can, of course, be a downside to that solution — as when one of our parrots, Kyaaro, somehow managed to get to the bowl of Easter jelly beans and took a bite out of every bean he could reach! Thankfully it was just sugar. We are, by the way, extremely careful about keeping things like chocolate WAY out of reach!

Happy “Hatchday” Celebrations

One event that we do manage (at least outside of COVID) is a celebration of the parrots’ hatchdays. Last year, I wrote about a “a very merry (un)hatchday” because of COVID, and despite our hopes, this year wasn’t a whole lot better. Still, we are keeping up the tradition. The parrots got the banerry-corknut cake that they adore (see below) and enjoyed it greatly! Thanks to COVID, only two of us were present, but I don’t think the parrots minded, given how focused they were on their treat.

Note that if we don’t know their exact hatchday, we celebrate their first day in lab. When not in the midst of COVID, we bring in an appropriate cake — one that the birds can eat — and share it among all who are in lab at the time. We leave it out for those who arrive later in the day to partake.

Selecting The Right Cake

Determining the cake flavor is not always simple. After Alex swiped a bite of carrot cake from a student, we realized that it was his absolute favorite, and he thus had small pieces yearly (sans the frosting). We even had a second celebration in New York City for Alex’s 25th hatchday, so that our friends there could take part. We had a huge cake and drinks for a large number of Alex’s supporters at the apartment of my friends Debby and Michael Smith in Battery Park; their African grey, Charlie Parker, stood in for Alex in the pictures!

For many years, we gave Griffin a carrot cake as well, although he never seemed to eat much. We should have realized the problem — he would never eat carrots on their own and would actively toss them out of his bowl! Duh! Finally, one of my lab managers found a recipe for the above-mentioned banerry-corknut cake (made mostly of apples, almond flour, and ground almonds). Griffin eats as much as we allow. Thankfully, Athena adores it as well, so we can have one cake for them both. Their hatchdays are only a few days apart, and so we have one celebration for them both.

One of the really neat things about their hatchday celebrations is that students from past years often remember to send the birds timely greetings. I can’t claim that the parrots remember the names of the students when I read the notes, but I can say that the current lab members appreciate hearing from their former compatriots and the news that I relate about what folks who have graduated from the lab have gone on to achieve. It is part of our lab culture, and I do think that knowing that one is part of a long tradition is a positive part of that culture.

Last year I had dreams that by 2022 the world would be back to normal, but such has not been the case. Nevertheless, we are really hoping to be able to have a much bigger event next year, because that is when Athena turns 10, but who knows what is in store for any of us?!?!

New Study On Birds Links Large Brains With Longevity

April 13, 2022 by Matt Rowe
head and should shot of a cockatoo facing the camera head-on
Photo by NoboXious/Pixabay

Science is a forward-moving momentous force that helps us to discover better things about the universe that surrounds us. Although we ourselves are encapsulated within the sphere of the planet Earth, the minute discoveries that we build upon allow us to gradually understand our amazing core of existence in a brighter light. It’s why the academic world of science continually launches studies of various things. Those studies will one day open amazing doors that will enrich all life in every way. With birds, it is our rabid interest in how they seem to surpass intelligence tests that keeps science looking harder at their seemingly casual existence.

A recent study undertaken by the Max Planck-Gesellschaft Institute to determine the brain size of parrots and their relationship to life expectancy has turned over a few stones of insight. The study was published in March of 2022 and involved 133, 818 individual birds across an astounding 244 parrot species. The study of longevity in parrots has been negligible up to this point. It has been studied and known among other species of creatures that brain size contributes to longevity in species. Now, with this new study, we’re steps closer to understanding brain size and longevity in parrots.

The Link Between Brain Size & Longevity

The approach to this study depended heavily on two previously formed hypotheses that involve the evolution of birds and their life spans. One was the “cognitive buffer hypothesis” that agrees that cognitive abilities will contribute to longevity. The other is “expensive brain hypothesis,” a thought that the life span of a bird is largely attributed to greater development of offspring with large brains (or that show stronger intelligence). During the study, it was determined that it is true that large brains in birds do, in fact, lend to their longevity. With favoritism toward enhanced intelligent features of the offspring, this naturally selected for longer life.

With larger brains, the developing birds have been able to effectively think out solutions leading to safer conditions that help to prolong life. The understanding is that large brains in living things allow them the ability to proactively think and to effectively rationalize the world around us. This study helped to underscore the concept of survival among us. With birds, such brains likely help them to learn better techniques of eating, food gathering, trust, and other things that lead to a longer life. This certainly explains the many articles written about the ingenuity of large birds to solve complex problems in steps to help them better adapt to a changing world that they find themselves in.

This study is a complex investment of time into the various birds that were used to gather data. Of course, the science of the study is far too complex for a write-up such as this. If you have further interest for the nuts and bolts of the study, follow this link.

In time, science will be able to tally up all the scores among all studies on life expectancy, coupled with the “hows and whys” gleaned from those studies, and may be able to effectively enhance all life on the planet. It’s why we continue to study every pathway with all the myriad of turns: to give us valuable insight for improvement.

Webinar: Pet Bird Housing: Interior Design — Setting Up The Cage For Action

April 11, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Pet Bird Housing: Interior Design – Setting Up the Cage for Action

Date: Friday, May 6, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar on Pet Bird HousingJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Ann Brooks, is co-founder & president of Phoenix Landing Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping pet birds through education & adoption as well as funding research and conservation programs. Ann will discuss the ideal housing for pet birds. Pet birds spend much of their time in cages and often these cages are not large enough to provide the exercise they need to thrive and remain healthy. They are also generally given all of their food in bowls within easy reach, where they can eat all day with little effort.

In this webinar, viewers will learn about the importance of providing opportunities for exercise, enrichment, and action. Ann will talk about how to set up a bird’s environment, especially their cage, for fun and multiple activities! Her tips will include ideas for perches, plants, cleaning, privacy, foraging, the area outside of the cage, and how to set up adjoining play areas.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



Webinar: Avian Vet Insider: Common Medications Your Vet May Prescribe And Why

April 11, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider: Common Medications Your Vet May Prescribe & Why

Date: Friday, May 13, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

 

banner for webinar discussing common medications your vet may prescribeJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Dr. Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will discuss some of the most common medications that are prescribed for or administered to pet birds. This will include antibiotics, antifungals, and anti-inflammatories. She will also cover the most common medications used for different “systems”, such as for liver disease, cardiac disease, and more. She will explain why each medication might be prescribed in order to help bird owners have a better understanding of what they are giving their birds and why.

Learn more about the medications that can help our pet birds in this insider’s view of the daily happenings at your Avian Vet’s clinic.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 

***** POSTPONED ***** Webinar: Avian Bornavirus? Avian Ganglioneuritis?: One Last Q&A! Special 2 Hour Webinar

April 11, 2022 by lafebercares

***** POSTPONED *****Webinar: Avian Bornavirus? Avian Ganglioneuritis?: One Last Q&A! Special 2-Hour Webinar

WE ARE SORRY BUT DUE TO A TRAVEL DELAY, DR. BOB WILL BE IN FLIGHT AT THE SCHEDULED TIME FOR THE WEBINAR. WE WILL HAVE TO RESCHEDULE THIS VERY IMPORTANT WEBINAR AS SOON AS WE CAN. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Date: Friday, May 20, 2022

Time: 11:00 am PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

*Special 2 Hour Webinar!

banner for webinar about Avian Bornavirus(ABV) /Avian Ganglioneuritis(AGNJoin us for this very important FREE, live webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guests, Susan Orosz PhD, DVM, DABVP (Avian), DECZM (Avian) & Bob Dahlhausen, DVM, will begin with answering questions that were submitted by viewers during their last webinar on Avian Bornavirus(ABV) /Avian Ganglioneuritis(AGN).  The doctors will then answer your questions related to this topic LIVE!

This is a complicated topic, because research is ongoing and there continues to be new findings, which seem to bring about more questions. While this will be the final installment of this series, we will continue to revisit this topic as needed in the future.  We recommend viewing the first three ABV/AGN webinars before attending this one: https://youtu.be/4D6SJ70OmoY & https://youtu.be/ZDo71HP82B4 & https://youtu.be/SpByi-TLUeY

WE ARE SORRY BUT DUE TO A TRAVEL DELAY, DR. BOB WILL BE IN FLIGHT AT THE SCHEDULED TIME FOR THE WEBINAR. WE WILL HAVE TO RESCHEDULE THIS VERY IMPORTANT WEBINAR AS SOON AS WE CAN. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Echo The African Grey Parrot Is Zoo’s “Artist In Residence”

April 6, 2022 by Matt Rowe
African grey parrot standing on table in front of paint canvas
Echo the African grey parrot dazzles zoo staff and visitors alike with her artwork. Image courtesy of the Maryland Zoo

The steps in which art is created display a unique expression of interests and an ability for patience. It takes time to create. Choosing colors, making brushstrokes that go on to become a definition of something, and the patience to stay with something that is involving all reveal a dedication for a result. For others, not only does a developing artwork provide an avenue for expression, but it also allows for a needed preoccupation that others do not have a tolerance for. That’s the beauty of art. No one does it the same, and not everyone is capable of it. But, in the end, the finished work is for everyone.

A Touch Of Grey On Display

The Maryland Zoo, situated in Baltimore, is spread out over 135-plus acres. Its main distinction is that it is the third-oldest zoo in the United States. While it is home to approximately 135 species of beautiful creatures from around the world, one of its other distinctions is an African grey parrot named Echo. Echo is a 22-year-old female parrot who has found it a good idea to paint abstract art. And paint she does.

Recently, the zoo posted a video on its Twitter feed that shows Echo taking a sponge dipped in non-toxic paint. She then goes to a canvas, whereby she rubs the surface with a rich display of colors. She is being taught by what the zoo refers to as the “Embassy care staff” to decorate the paper with the dipped sponge of paint. During the process, Echo is rewarded with treats to encourage the next brushstroke. As the video shows, her work is done in dabs overlapping other colors to fill up the surface. Echo is avidly social, and quite an intelligent and confident parrot. She has painted publicly and interacts well with the public.

Smart African Greys

The Embassy staff believes that the painting projects that Echo participates in help to keep her mentally stimulated. What is known about the African grey species is that they are quite smart. They reveal a strong intelligence that is seen as being on par with that of a 5-year-old child. Their skill levels expand to more than just parroting back vocally what they hear. They can also do a variety of other things that underscore their ability to think. Past studies have revealed that the African grey parrot can differentiate between colors and shapes, even words! Therefore, a work much like the one Echo is creating in the video — and others she has already created — can unveil a reflection of what might be going through her mind. After all, art is an extremely personal undertaking.

In the kind of art normally described as abstract art, Echo has created her own masterpieces. A quick review of abstract art shows that a combined collection of colors in uniquely chosen brushstrokes can be deeply interpreted by many observers of art. It can represent thousands of things to reflective appreciators of the style. The fact that interpretation lies in the minds and hearts of many different people amplifies the unique beauty of the pieces that Echo creates.

The Maryland Zoo wonders if Echo will become “the next bird-casso.” We’re equally excited to discover the future works of Echo as she becomes more independently entrenched in her painting.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: New Zealand Keas

March 29, 2022 by Ann Brooks
image by Dr. Luis Ortiz-Catedral

We think of parrots as tropical creatures, but there is one very unusual psittacine that lives on the ground in the alpine native forests of New Zealand, the kea parrot (Nestor notabilis). It is the only mountain parrot species in the world and is also considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet! Keas are highly social and exhibit complex cognitive skills, which is why their intelligence is extensively studied at several universities.

The other unusual aspect of keas is that they nest on the ground in naturally formed cavities. Females care for the eggs while the male forages for the family. It takes four months for the chicks to fledge. So, like many parrot species, they are long-lived and slow to repopulate, making them more vulnerable over time. Keas have been known to live up to 50 years in captivity, and 30 years in the wild.

Protecting Keas

With the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand in the 19th century, keas were accused of attacking sheep and underwent significant culling. As many as 150,000 were killed in a legal bounty system. The current population is estimated at 5,000 to 6,000, in a limited 13,500-square-mile region. Today, the kea is listed as Endangered by IUCN. It did not receive full protection until 1986, so there’s lots of work to do!

image by Dr. Luis Ortiz-Catedral

The NZ Parrot Trust is working to increase and protect the kea population, along with several other government and non-profit organizations like the Kea Conservation Trust NZ. Several important projects are underway, such as removing lethal lead nails, flashing, and paint in areas frequented by keas. These parrots are naturally curious and known to chew on everything, even if just for fun!

Increased predator control has been initiated around nesting areas in key parks, and more medical care for rehabilitation is being funded at wildlife hospitals. Some keas are now tracked via VHF radio. This allows researchers to learn more about their behavior, and known nests are being monitored for their breeding success. The goal is to build a stronger more sustainable population of keas!

image by Dr. Luis Ortiz-Catedral

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes to NZ Parrot Trust to help support these many worthy projects. You can also help! Click here to learn more and to make a tax-deductible donation.

Exotic Birds Get Help In Ukraine Crisis

March 23, 2022 by Matt Rowe
Dr. Maj standing with cockatoo perched on her arm
image courtesy of Dr. Aleksandra Kornelia Maj

Millions have been displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As people flee their homes, some of them must bring along extra passengers that they love and care for. Those extra passengers include many pets like dogs, cats, and exotic birds. This disruption in a calm daily existence has upset many of those pets’ finely tuned comfort zone. As many cross borders to safety zones, the question remains on how to help the creatures that are brought along.

Aleksandra Kornelia Maj is a Poland-based veterinarian who has gone to great lengths to help evacuees of the Ukraine region who are entering Poland and who have pet parrots. With the array of discord, it becomes difficult to properly care for birds. Help is needed. And Dr. Maj has stepped up to the plate with the extraordinary offer of assistance. On her Instagram page, she has provided important information for people arriving with parrots.

Helping Birds Displaced By War

Dr. Maj stands with lorikeet perched on hand
image courtesy of Dr. Aleksandra Kornelia Maj

The Department of Customs of the Ministry of Finance has developed a plan for those with birds, especially those that meet Endangered Species criteria. The request is to bring the bird(s) to the Customs and Tax Services to shorten the procedures for importation. After this is completed, Dr. Maj has warmly offered a continuance of help with free veterinary care to refugee birds. Remote help and advice are also offered for those unable to get to her or to an otherwise useable facility for care. Temporary rehoming has been offered to help protect parrots that might become otherwise abandoned. It is this for which we are grateful for her unending kindness that is focused on exotic birds. Most importantly, no bird is turned away even if no papers are available.

Dr. Maj has long supported the use of Lafeber Nutri-Berries for birds She asks donors to contribute them as a means of supporting the birds with food as she helps Ukrainians with birds. Fundacja Epicrates is one agency helping with donations via its Facebook page. It is necessary to add to the donation “For Birds From Ukraine.”

Dr. Maj with a cockatoo parrot
image courtesy of Dr. Aleksandra Kornelia Maj

Other professional agencies have also been helpful. Veterinarian services across countries have offered help for any kind of pet misplaced by the invasion. One news service tells of two police officers who hurriedly rushed in to rescue two distraught parrots in a destroyed block of Kyiv.

This is not an easy journey for anyone, including pets who do not understand the excitement. To have people like Dr. Maj step in to help is to have a miracle of assistance when it is most needed.

Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Alex’s Communication Skills

March 16, 2022 by Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
African grey Alex bending over table
Alex would sometimes ask new student volunteers to bring him toy after toy, seemingly to test their knowledge of what items were called what. Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

All my parrots use the sounds of English speech to communicate with me and with the students in the lab, but none to the extent that made Alex so special. Much of that had to do with Alex being an “only bird” for the first 15 years of his life. But he had a small army of humans who spent about 10 hours/day vocally interacting with him on a one-to-one or two-to-one basis.

Some of that had to do with the different training our subsequent birds experienced. For example, we tested several alternative procedures with Griffin, none of which were nearly as effective as the M/R technique that was Alex’s only training; thus Griffin had much less useful input during his early life, and that likely affected how much he was willing to learn later.

During Athena’s early training, we could never arrange to give her long periods with only human interaction so that she would want to learn more speech than parrot squawks. (As I’ve noted before, she can talk very well but simply doesn’t often care to do so!) Although I don’t think Alex was particularly gifted, he did interact with us to an extraordinary extent, and his skills can best be appreciated by describing several of his vocal activities.

Alex The Vocabulary Teacher

Vocabulary Lesson For Students

Alex engaged in a particular behavior pattern exclusively with new students. They probably thought he was hazing them, but his actions likely had an origin in nature. Each time a new student came into the lab, Alex asked for everything in his repertoire — all of his toys, all of his foods, things of various colors and shapes. It was a constant barrage of “Want X!” These actions would not have been quite so annoying had he actually wanted any of these things. What he did was beak them for a moment and then almost immediately toss them to the ground, only to then shout out “Want Y!”

To keep the students engaged, I had to explain what I thought was the real reason for Alex’s actions: that he wanted to make sure that he and they shared the same repertoire so that they could become part of his flock. Very likely something like that happens in the wild when a new bird tries to join an existent group. All the birds need to be able to communicate fully with one another, so they likely test out their understanding of each other’s utterances. The incoming bird can then learn new vocalizations if necessary.

A Vocabulary Lesson For Me

Sometimes Alex acted as though he expected me to figure out what he meant even if he wasn’t initially making his message clear. I’ll never forget a particular instance that involved one of his favorite foods, grapes. At the time, we were at Purdue University, and finding fresh, beautiful grapes in Indiana in the middle of winter in the late 1970s was a challenge. I was thrilled when I was able to obtain some particularly lovely green ones at the local grocery store. I couldn’t wait to be able to respond to Alex’s “Want grape!” with something other than “Sorry, not today.”

Thus I was quite surprised when I handed one over and he promptly tossed it in my face, and then repeated “Want grape!” He tossed the next one back as well. I ate it, telling him it was “Yummy!” I thought that maybe it had been so long since he had had grapes that he didn’t recognize it. We went through the interaction once more. Finally, he looked at me, ruffled his feathers, and said, “Want grape … URP-LE!” (for some reason, he had trouble with the initial /p/ in “purple”). Point taken. Green grapes just weren’t acceptable, no matter how big and juicy.

Griffin Bullied By Alex

He also used his speech to bully Griffin. We would ask Griffin to identify the color of an item, and Griffin would softly say something like “gree…” From the next cage, Alex would shout out, “Talk clearly! Say better! GREEEEEN!” Griffin would scrunch down, look sheepish, and stop talking. Or Alex would look at Griffin and say, “No! Tell me what shape?” Griffin would look at me, look at Alex, literally shrug his little birdie shoulders as if to say, “To whom should I respond?”Again, he went quiet. Poor Griffin.

Alex The Eager Learner

As I mentioned in last month’s blog, Alex  also asked questions in order to learn new labels for objects, colors, shapes, and foods. I never thought too much about that behavior, until a colleague studying nonhuman behavior pointed out that the apes in animal-human communication studies never did so. Some of them, like Alex, would address the problem of dealing with an item they couldn’t name by devising new labels from existing ones (e.g., Washoe called a radish “cry-hurt-food” and produced “water-bird” for a swan; Alex devised “yummy bread” for cake, “banerry” for apple, “cork nut” for almond, etc.).

The apes also always routinely responded to questions, but evidence of their actually asking questions isn’t documented. Alex, however, learned “carrot” by asking us what we were eating, learned “orange” by asking about the color of the carrot, learned “gray” by seeing himself in a mirror and asking, “What color?” and the labels of several other items through repeatedly questioning his trainers. Unlike the apes, he thus understood that he could use his existent phrases as a tool to learn more labels. Sadly, neither Griffin nor Athena seem to have acquired this skill.

Alex The Trickster

Another incident occurred when I was taping a radio program for a media outlet. Given that it was radio, it seemed weird to be asking Alex about objects that the audience couldn’t see, but, hey, if that’s what the outlet wanted. I picked up a toy (I seem to remember it being an orange, wooden triangle) and asked Alex, “What color?” He asked me, “What shape?” I told him, and repeated my query. He asked, “What matter?” I told him, and repeated my query. He then asked, “How many?” I told him there was one toy and repeated my query. He again asked me, “What shape?”

At that point, I lost my patience and figured that the audience would think he was just randomly spouting phrases. Not good. I told him something like, “Enough! I’m going to go away.” I turned my back and began to walk out of the room. The producer tracked the sounds of my heels clicking … and then came a little parrot voice,“I’m sorry…orange!” I don’t know if Alex had intentionally wanted to express his dismay about being asked to identify an old, boring item yet one more time, but he couldn’t have done a better job of it.

Needless to say, I wish that Griffin and Athena were equally chatty, but they both demonstrate their intelligence in many other ways. Griffin in particular has exhibited levels of cognitive processing that continue to surprise my colleagues and surpass some of what Alex had shown. And, of course, given that African grey parrots are open-ended vocal learners, I haven’t given up on either of them.

Webinar: Comprehensive Anatomy Research Project — New Findings To Advance Veterinary Medicine

March 14, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Comprehensive Anatomy Research Project — New Findings to Advance Veterinary Medicine

Date: Friday, April 1, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar on comprehensive anatomy research in veterinary medicineJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will give his second presentation on the Comprehensive Anatomy Research Project. As promised, he has some exciting new findings that he is now able to share with us! This groundbreaking project is easily one of the most significant projects ever for advancements in Veterinary Medicine.

The information gained goes beyond simply identifying anatomy and has been used to better diagnose and treat a multitude of diseases that affect pet birds and all animals. New imaging technology and future directions will also be discussed. We recommend viewing the first webinar on this topic before attending this one: https://youtu.be/EFOXyobzVkk

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider — Cardiovascular Disease In Pet Birds, Part 2 (12 p.m. PDT)

March 14, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider: Avian Vet Insider — Cardiovascular Disease In Pet Birds, Part 2

Date: Friday, April 8, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar on cardiovascular disease in pet birds part 2Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Dr. Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will continue her talk about Cardiovascular Disease in pet birds, focusing on the questions that viewers submitted during Part 1 of this discussion.

Dr. Lamb will answer these questions and discuss some cases in this insider’s view of the daily happenings at your Avian Vet’s clinic. We recommend viewing Part 1 before attending this webinar: https://youtu.be/tIK3YNxxoFY

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 


Webinar: The Grey Way: Let’s Talk Toys — Choosing Safe Toys

March 14, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: The Grey Way: Let’s Talk Toys — Choosing Safe Toys

Date: Friday, April 22, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar about choosing safe bird toysJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and operator of The Platinum Parrot and a certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, presents Episode 10 of The Grey Way, a Lafeber Pet Birds Webinar Series focusing on Congo and Timneh African grey parrots as pets.

In this episode, Lisa will discuss how to choose the right type of toys for your birds. There are safe and unsafe toys on the market, but even the safest toy can be a danger if given to the wrong-sized bird. Lisa will help you know what to look for, whether you are shopping for a tiny canary or the largest Macaw. While Lisa will also focus on Grey-centric concerns, her information applies to any pet bird species.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



Webinar: Ask The Vet With Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM

March 14, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A With Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

Date: Friday, April 29, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar Ask The Vet with Dr. Tom TullyJoin us for a live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian), will answer your questions about pet bird health, nutrition, care, and behavior problems. Is your bird’s problem health-related or behavioral? Are you offering the right foods to your pet bird? Ask the Vet!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



Animated YouTube Series Features Two Bickering Parakeets

March 9, 2022 by Matt Rowe

In the world of animation and print, many cartoons bring humor to our existence to help alleviate the doldrums and stress of a full day. No matter what kind of day you may be involved in, humor is an essential element to help balance the scales. Imagine the source of humor coming from a pair of parakeets and their owner, all coalescing into a look at life from many angles.

Greg Capin is the originator of a YouTube series simply called The Parakeets. Within the short episodes (each episode runs around one to two minutes in length), you are introduced to two funny parakeets that are christened Nubert the Nice and Kirby the Devious. With assigned names like those, you already know you’re in for a strange but pleasant run of comedy that can only be understood by watching. Their owner is Greg.

Catch Up With Season Two

The Parakeets originally began life as a YouTube series in 2018 as a web-based series dreamed up, written, and voiced by Greg Capin. The first year consisted of 11 episodes that pitted mild-mannered Nubert against the hilariously alternate shades of Kirby, with Greg the owner stuck in the thick of it all. Within the first season, you hear Kirby pick on Nubert in many ways by song, anecdotes, lies, and just plain orneriness. I fully admit to many chuckles and warm laughs throughout the episodes, much as I’m sure you will experience and enjoy.

There is a collection of audio commentaries included in the first season that concludes with a ten-hour-long video of the two parakeets involved in a “’Shut up!,’ ‘No, YOU shut up!’” session. While I didn’t watch the whole thing, I must admit to finding it funny. Check out the first season.

Somehow, the series didn’t see the light of day again until just recently when Season 2 episodes of The Parakeets began release in December of 2021. Currently, five episodes are available and others appear to show up erratically. For now, the continued exploits of Nubert and Kirby are seen in available episodes. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel to be notified of next postings of an episode.

The first video takes up with Kirby placed in a separate cage to help avoid any physical altercation between the two opposed birds. And like with Season 1, you will pick right up and enjoy chuckle after chuckle as the two birds obsess and deride each other about Facebook likes, and a host of other antics that children would undertake.

You can catch up on Season Two and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Urban Birds Project–Macaws In The City Of Campo Grande, Brazil

March 2, 2022 by Ann Brooks
blue-and-gold macaws perched in tree with street and city below
A pair of blue-and-gold macaws enjoy a bird’s eye view of the city. Photo Courtesy of PORCIMADECG

In conservation, the story is almost always the same — loss of habitat and food sources, poaching, climate change, and a need for community support. These significant challenges affect many parrot species across all continents.

We’re headed back to Brazil, to the metropolitan city of Campo Grande, where the Instituto Arara Azul has found a novel way to address all these challenges at once. Instead of only focusing on protecting macaws in less populated areas, they are also making it safe for macaws to nest and live in this major city of almost one million. The institute has created community programs to engender appreciation and protection for the birds, and the effort has blossomed. Making it possible for the parrots to thrive in the city is an innovative idea, and perhaps a critical one for the survival of some species. Humans continue to consume more and more of the earth’s land, putting more and more species at risk.

In a prior post about the hyacinth macaws of the Patanal in Brazil, I told you about the Instituto Arara Azul, Neiva Guedes, and her amazing team. She knows how hard it is to preserve native land and rebuild a species. Neiva has also created the Projeto Aves Urbanas — Araras na Cidade (macaws in the city). Its main goals are to monitor the reproductive success of the birds in the city by registering nests, taking photographs, and recording data about nest building, egg laying, parental feeding, fledging, and juvenile flight. Over 80% of the nests have been fully successful from egg laying to juvenile flight, a remarkable accomplishment! Originally it was the blue and golds making nests and surviving in Campo Grande. They are now been joined by a number of greenwing macaws, and a growing number of unusual hybrids (what we call harlequin macaws).

blue-and-gold macaw sitting on a perch by nest box tower
The Instituto Arara Azul is helping native macaws thrive in the Brazilian city of Campo Grande and tracking their breeding success. Photo by Kevin Blaylock Phoenix Landing

Having visited Neiva and her team in Campo Grande several times, I can attest firsthand to the remarkable work the institute is doing, both in facilitating a city-based macaw population as well as expanding a body of scientific knowledge about macaw reproduction and species preservation. The community takes great pride in their local parrot populace and helps to protect nests, whether it’s a tree in the meridian of a busy road or a tree cavity in their back yard, as exemplified by the extra accessories (roof and deck) a family provided for their blue and gold tenant.

macaw nests in city
Photo Courtesy of Arara Azul

Lafeber’s $500 Global Parrot Conservation Grant this month goes to the Instituto Arara Azul to assist with the community effort to build a thriving macaw population in Campo Grande, and the Instituto Arara Azul team that helps to monitor their health and safety. You can also help! To make a tax-deductible donation go to the donation section of the Parrots International website and choose the Hyacinth Macaw Project.

And here is another link with more information about the macaws of Campo Grande.

Cockatoos Learn To Golf In New Study

February 23, 2022 by Matt Rowe

 

Goffin's cockatoo sitting on branch
Goffin’s cockatoo. Photo by RoyBuri/Pixabay

Golf is a popular worldwide pastime that has millions of fans heading to exotic and challenging courses. Golf has even spawned a secondary pleasure popularly known as Mini-Golf, itself a challenging but leisurely stroll around imaginative courses found in play-areas and on cruise ships. These are experiences that are sought after by humans to unwind (or to compete as it may be). Now imagine a parrot getting interested in the sport. Impossible? I’m not so sure about that.

A while back, it was reported that a smart cockatoo by the name of Figaro had fashioned tools to extract nuts from a box. Figaro is a Goffin’s cockatoo who lives at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. His home is referred to as the “Goffin Lab.” Not long after this refined skill had been developed by Figaro, several of his cockatoo buddies learned how to do the exact same thing by observation. What came of this was the amazing realization that tool-crafting did not exist solely in the realm of primates and humans. Birds could do it, too! New studies on tool use in the wild by various birds were launched and more commonly observable than previously thought possible.

Cockatoos Nail The Golf Club Task

As newer studies emerge with different tasks being presented to cockatoos, one recent study was published to detail the ability of cockatoos to play golf. Essentially, the study was produced by attempting to test the ability of Goffin’s cockatoos to utilize two separate tools in conjunction to achieve the desired result. The test was referred to as the “Golf Club Task,” which taught the parrot to use one object to control the second object. A successful attempt by the cockatoo yielded an immediate reward. After this, a newer study was undertaken to determine if — as in previous scenarios — these observable tricks can be learned and undertaken by other cockatoos.

The Golf Club Task is a constructed box with its floor outfitted with carpet. The box has two openings, one on either side. One of the sides has a reward placed at it to bait the procedure. To acquire the viewable reward, a ball is dropped into the playing field via a tube at the top of the box. The cockatoo positions at one opening and uses a stick to maneuver the ball to the other hole (with the reward). When the task is completed, the shelf that holds the reward collapses and the cockatoo can retrieve the reward.

There were nine cockatoos used in this test. Of those, three completed the puzzle resulting in nine consecutive successful efforts. Figaro, the first champion of the tool in the previous study was the first to complete this puzzle by his fourth attempt. Even so, he easily picked up on the challenge in his first attempt. He even was able to improve upon his procedures. His first trial took him a little over eight minutes to achieve while his tenth trial took him slightly over 5 seconds.

‘Toos & Tools

The use of tools by cockatoos in the wild is not something they regularly do. But in captivity, Goffin’s cockatoos have become extraordinary in learning and adopting these new skills to achieve end results and rewards. In fact, it was observed that these birds can improve on the puzzle solution over time. We are continually finding our birds, especially Goffin’s cockatoos, to be much more proficient in complex tool usage than we thought beforehand.

It will be interesting to see what comes after this for Figaro and his compadres. You can read details of the study at Scientific Reports.

Fore!

Avian Vet Insider: Parrots And Hormones — Is It Time For “The Talk”?

February 17, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider: Parrots & Hormones – Is it Time for “The Talk”?

Date: Friday, March 4, 2022

Special Time: 11:00 am PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar about parrots and hormonesJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Dr. Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will revisit a very important topic — hormones! Most behavior issues and many health issues for pet birds actually begin due to hormones.

Dr. Lamb will answer the following questions and more in this insider’s view of the daily happenings at your Avian Vet’s clinic.

How do I recognize hormonal behavior and what can I do about it? Are birds more hormonal in captivity? Do I need to let my female bird lay eggs? Do I need to breed my pet bird? How can being hormonal be harmful for my bird? My bird loves to cuddle — how can this be a problem? Do you really see that many cases related to hormones?

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



Avian Bornavirus? Avian Ganglioneuritis? Your Questions Answered!

February 17, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Avian Bornavirus? Avian Ganglioneuritis?: Your Questions Answered!

Date: Friday, March 11, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar about avian bornavirusJoin us for this very important FREE, live webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guests, Susan Orosz Ph.D., DVM, DABVP (Avian), DECZM (Avian) and Bob Dahlhausen, DVM, will provide a brief review on Avian Bornavirus(ABV) /Avian Ganglioneuritis(AGN) and how it can affect our various parrot species. The doctors will then answer your questions related to this topic LIVE!

This is a complicated topic, because research is ongoing and there continues to be new findings, which seem to bring about more questions. We will continue to revisit this topic as needed.  We recommend viewing the first two ABV/AGN webinars before attending this one: https://youtu.be/4D6SJ70OmoY & https://youtu.be/ZDo71HP82B4 .

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 

 

 

Webinar: The Grey Way: Greys And Hormones — Does My Grey Love Me Too Much?

February 17, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: The Grey Way: Greys & Hormones — Does My Grey Love Me Too Much?

Date: Friday, March 18, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar about hormones in African grey parrotsJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and operator of The Platinum Parrot and a certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, presents Episode 9 of The Grey Way, a Lafeber Pet Birds Webinar Series focusing on Congo & Timneh African grey parrots as pets. In this episode, Lisa will discuss “The Hormonal Grey.”

What are the first signs of hormones? How can I address this? Can the way I handle my Grey really affect his or her hormones? Is it important to know the sex of my Grey?

While Lisa will focus on Grey-centric concerns, much of her information in this talk can apply to any pet bird species.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



 

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A With Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

February 17, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A with Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

Date: Friday, March 25, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Dr. Tully webinarJoin us for a live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian), will answer your questions about pet bird health, nutrition, care, and behavior problems. Is your bird’s problem health-related or behavioral? Are you offering the right foods to your pet bird? Ask the Vet!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



 

Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Do My Parrots Enjoy Their Tasks And Training?

February 16, 2022 by Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
African grey parrot tapping a cup with her beak
Athena quickly taps the correct cup on her trial. Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

I’m sometimes asked if my parrots enjoy their tasks in the lab, or if they find their testing and training stressful. Do they have enough time just to “be parrots.” I think the answer to the first question is not too different from what it would be if the subjects were young children: It depends on the exact type of task that they are being given. As for the second question, a huge amount of time in the lab is devoted to play — by themselves or with the various students. Some days, they have about 10 minutes of trials and 50 minutes of tickles for every hour they spend with their human companions!

But going back to the tasks. At the moment, one of our studies involves something called “inference by exclusion.” This means figuring out where a treat may be hidden after being given information about where it is absent. I’ve previously written about earlier versions of this task. Now we are giving a much more complicated version to Griffin, and running the simpler, earlier version with Athena (see figure below). They both really seem to enjoy these trials.

Harder Tasks Reap Bigger Rewards

It may be a consequence of getting half a cashew per trial, which is a huge bonus, as they generally receive only about an eighth or maybe a quarter of a nut for most correct answers. They really have to watch what is happening, so we use the larger reward to keep them focused. When we run these sessions, we start with Griffin’s trials. He gets only three per session, maximum, because they are so involved and require two choices (and thus the possibility of earning three whole cashews!)

While Griffin is being tested, Athena sits on her cage, squawking for attention, often saying something that sounds quite a bit like, “What about meee!?” She is really eager for her turn to start, and she gets five trials (they are much simpler, and therefore much quicker). Interestingly, when we tried to run her trials with organic, fruit-flavored cereal pieces, she wouldn’t work at all. But once we started using cashews….

African grey parrot Griffin gives a look instead of choosing a letter when presented a choice
Griffin gives “the look” and clearly does not care to participate. Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

Another one of our studies is about logic, and eventually, it will be quite complex. The first step, however, is very simple: to get both of the birds to tap one of two blocks with their beaks, depending on the alphabet letter attached. The command is either “Touch A” or “Touch B,” and the choice is, obviously, A versus B.

Given the kinds of difficult tasks my parrots have previously solved, one would think this would be extremely easy and that they would succeed very quickly — that it would almost be like handing out free nuts. But that is very much not the case. They simply will not score above chance (see image of Griffin giving me “the look” instead of working). Maybe it is the small reward (they temporarily paid more attention when I increased the size of the nut reward, but I drew the line at a quarter of a cashew for such an easy task). The situation is quite frustrating for me, and possibly for the parrots as well. Maybe we should follow each correct trial by a few minutes of tickles? Hmm….

Training Challenges

Some tasks they will do correctly, if grudgingly. As I write this, we have only one human in lab at any given time (thank you, COVID: not!), so we can’t do our normal two-person Model/Rival training. Therefore, I try to get Griffin to stand in for a human. It works, but not very well.

If, for example, I ask Griffin to model color labels for Athena by asking, “What color?” he gives me a look that seems to say, “You already know that this thing is orange. And you already know that I know it is orange. And I know that you know that I already know it is orange. So, what is the POINT???” After I repeat the question a few times, he’ll usually give me an annoyed feather flooff, then respond. And Athena will often keep repeating a color she already can say, expecting a reward just for talking. Clearly, we all are looking forward to a return to standard training.

Sometimes they really want to learn a new label and Alex, at least, was proactive. For whatever reason, he wanted to learn to say brown, and he would, over and over, tap a piece of a cardboard box and ask me, “What color?” I’d respond, “brown” and then he would ask again. He hadn’t quite mastered it before he passed away, but he was close.

My friend and colleague, Leigh Ann (a former trainer in our lab), says that her birds, Pepper and Franco, whom we sometimes incorporate into our studies, really enjoy the challenges. Maybe it is because we generally ask them to do only the tasks that are the most ‘”fun” like the inference trials. It certainly is NOT because they are otherwise bored. Leigh Ann is always thinking up new foraging toys or other types of enrichment for them. Maybe it is because they get to work with her during the task? For whatever reason, they almost never seem to balk.

Overall, my impression is that — at least for creatures as smart as African grey parrots — giving them various types of tasks is basically a form of enrichment and a form that, for the most part, they really enjoy.

Remember that, in the wild, they would be flying about 60 kilometers (that’s over 35 miles) per day to forage for various different foods and for water. They would constantly be on the lookout for predators and would also be interacting with many different members of their flock over the course of the day. It would therefore seem that asking our birds to do some tasks — birds who don’t have to forage or avoid predators — would be seen as a way to keep them as mentally stimulated as they would be in nature. And if they find a particular task somewhat boring, well … they just have to wait a short while and something else will be on the schedule!

Ollie The Cockatiel Takes On Epic Fundraising Trek Across New Zealand

February 8, 2022 by Matt Rowe
cockatiel wearing sweaete
image courtesy of Robyn Chappell

Nature employs its own immutable rules as to how it moves forward. It does as it wants with little regard to the inhabitants of the world. As living and breathing elements that live within the sphere, all things must adapt if they are able. Even living entities create their own sets of rules within the conformity of nature to ensure that survival is key. But often that results in unfortunate incidents much like the one that Ollie the cockatiel has endured.

As a young chick, Ollie was attacked by his father in the nest resulting in a mangled leg that was dislocated and twisted backward. Other wounds incurred by the attack were concerning. The initial thought was to euthanize the chick, but it was decided that the chick be allowed to pass on its own.

But Ollie was having none of that. Instead, Ollie rebounded, and despite his obvious handicap, Ollie developed completely unhindered by the disability. As of this writing, Ollie is 2 years old and as vibrant as can be.

A ‘Tiel Walkabout

cockatiel on perch wearing red sweater with a white heart on chest
image courtesy of Robyn Chappell

Ollie lives with his “hoomum,” Robyn, who runs Huntington Stable Retreat, a bed and breakfast in Cambridge, New Zealand. Robyn also runs Bird Rescue Cambridge. Recently, it was bandied about that Robyn and Ollie undertake a complete walk on the Te Araroa Trail located in New Zealand at Cape Reinga. It’s roughly over 1,800 miles in length with one 917-mile straight-line trail that ends in Bluff. The intended purpose of the travel was to raise awareness of the need to get out and explore, as well as provide some needed contributions for the upkeep of the trail. A Facebook page, and an Instagram page were created to monitor and document the trip as well as other aspects of Ollie’s beautiful life.

cockatiel wearing sweater
Ollie the cockatiel wearing sweater; article by Robyn Chappell

As it turns out, the COVID pandemic and all the concerns that come with it have disrupted the continuous walk. But they still find the time to visit towns and other locations along the trail, albeit in parts. The goal is still there to urge people off their couches and into nature to enjoy the sights, sounds, and freshness of the experiences that can be had.

A funding page has been started at GiveALittle with the received funds being given to the Te Araroa Trail. You can visit that page here. You can also learn more about the Te Araroa Trail here.

Not only do we love a story of a bird fighting back from seemingly catastrophic odds as Ollie did, but we also love to see how they thrive despite disabilities that are great hindrances to normality. Ollie doesn’t seem to notice his, which we love even more. We wish the absolute best for Ollie, who looks adorable in all the knitted pieces that he wears.

Texas Woman Sets Bird-Watching Record And Aims To Make Birding Safer For Women

January 31, 2022 by Matt Rowe
blue-footed booby standing on stump beside water
Spotting a blue-footed booby helped bring Kersten’s bird count up to 700 species. Photo by sebastian_photos/Pixabay

Bird-watching and active “get out there and spot ’em” birding has risen in popularity over the past few decades. Annual Bird-Watch events serve multiple purposes, the best being that they help tabulating organizations to keep an eye on species, their locations, and their probable numbers. Of course, the others include the refreshing fun of finding birds and being an essential part of ongoing research projects. In the intended attempts by birders to best their previous records, they go for the “Big Year,” a term emphatically used by hobbyist birdwatchers.

A Very Big Year

Tiffany Kersten is a resident of Texas. She is actively engaged in bird-watching and is owner of Nature Ninja Birding Tours. With that, she takes groups on tours for birding opportunities and for nature walks. On March 8 of 2021, Kersten announced that she would undertake her Big Year with the hopes of sighting 700 birds in the lower 48 states of America. In addition to that lofty goal, she wanted to bring awareness to women birders and their safety while pursuing what should be a stress-free endeavor. As it turns out, Kersten set a record with the sighting of 726 species in 2021. (Her accepted count was 725 but she last spotted a Bat Falcon that needs to be officially accepted by the ABA.)

Kersten traveled to all 48 states in order to help accomplish her goal. She detailed her year-long journey with a blog that meticulously recounted her adventures in birding. Setting an enviable record is a welcome achievement, but Kersten wants it known that women can do birding as effectively as men can … and they want to. But there is a potential threat to women who undertake birding in nature settings that might put them at risk of human predators.

A few years back, Kersten was a victim of sexual assault when she was out in a nature setting. During this Big Year project, she wanted to help make the hobby a safer one for women by starting a GoFundMe page to follow her along on her trips. With the money donated, she purchased She’s Birdie alarms and gave them away to women she encountered.

Safer Birding

What is a She’s Birdie alarm? It’s a unit that can attach to backpacks and belt loops that, if pulled apart, emits a loud alarm and flashes a bright light to help bring attention to a person’s location and threat. The creation of the alarm is a story all by itself. The company partnered with Kersten to match her purchases with one free one, allowing her to gift double the women encountered along the way.

Kersten is one of the pioneers in women safety along nature trails. The need for attention to women safety is ably attended to by her exploits in 2021, and as 2022 progresses. With her new business, and her strong leadership, she will be responsible for continued awareness along our many nature trails.

You can investigate her journey in detail by reading her blog. You can follow her on Facebook page as well as her Nature Ninja Birding Tours.

Congratulations to Kersten for her spectacular ABA record in her Big Year in bird-watching and for her efforts to make birding safer for women across the world.

Male Or Female? Your Bird’s Gender Goes Beyond Naming

January 24, 2022 by Laura Doering
green male eclectus and red female eclectus outside
Electus parrots are one of the few parrot species where males and females can be easily distinguished from one another. Male Eclectus parrots are primarily green, and females are mostly red. Photo by Hans/Pixabay

Many people who are considering welcoming a feathered companion into their family do some research to get a sense of typical behaviors, vocalization levels, care, feeding and housing requirements, and so forth. Sometimes the name comes before the bird. For others, one look at the bird, and the perfect moniker instantly comes to mind.

Avian companions are unique in that, unlike dogs and cats, the sex of the bird is more often than not unknown, unless the bird has been DNA-sexed, laid an egg, or belongs to one of the few visually dimorphic species of parrot, such as Eclectus parrots, where the males are a vibrant green and females a ruby red. For the most part, in most parrot species males and females look the same.

When “He” Is A “She” & Vice Versa

Flock dynamics can instantly change when a “male” bird lays an egg. There is no doubt now that the bird is female. It shouldn’t be too surprising that there are plenty of companion birds with what would be considered gender-opposite traditional names — like a male bird named Betsy, or a female bird named Elvis. Whether or not your bird has a “traditional gender-accurate” name doesn’t really matter. But knowing the sex of your pet bird can be important to your bird’s health.

Gender-Specific Concerns

Amazon parrot perched on person's hand inside a store
Photo by Jon LCE/Unsplash

There can be behavioral differences between males and females, especially as a bird matures. Once a bird reaches the age of sexual maturity (which varies depending on the bird’s species), hormonal behavior can kick in during certain times of the year. The bird’s natural breeding season can signal increased moodiness, aggression, possessiveness, nest building, and more.

Knowing if your bird is male or female can help you be better prepared for changes your bird might go through as it reaches sexual maturity. When hormonal, a female bird might seek out dark spaces around your home to nest. A male might become more vocal and territorial.

Nutritional needs can also differ between male and female birds during the breeding season. A female bird can lay eggs regardless of whether or not another bird is around. A female bird might need extra calcium in her diet, especially if she is an excessive egg layer. Knowing that your bird is female might make you extra diligent in keeping a lookout for signs of being egg-bound, such as swelling in the abdomen, fluffed-up feathers, and general weakness.

A male with a swollen abdomen and general weakness can be an entirely different diagnosis. This information can be important for your veterinarian to know. Awareness of a bird’s sex can also play an important role when considering housing two or more birds together to prevent unwanted breeding — having a male and female of the same species means an egg could indeed be fertile.

A Simple Test To Know Your Bird’s Sex

A lot of people associate DNA testing with discovering their ancestry. DNA testing for companion parrots has been around for years, but with a different focus. Your avian veterinarian can test your bird’s DNA to determine its sex. Typically, this requires a  dab of the bird’s blood or a few feathers sent to a laboratory for analysis. Surgical sexing is also possible, where the veterinarian will visually look for testicles (in males) or ovaries (in females), but since this requires anesthesia, it is far less common.

There are also companies that offer mail-in test kits. Again, a few of the bird’s feathers or drop of blood (where the bird’s nail is clipped just enough at the base of the quick to nick the vein so that a spot of blood can be collected on an enclosed blood card) is all that’s needed. Kits typically cost around $20. If you’re not comfortable with collecting blood or feathers from your bird, tell your veterinarian when you schedule a well-bird checkup that you would like to have your bird DNA sexed.

Regardless of whether your bird is a youngster or middle-aged, knowing its sex is one more step you can take to ensure optimum health and well-being. And think of the fun you can have with a gender-reveal party!

Were you convinced that your bird was of a particular sex only to find out you were wrong after the results of a DNA test, or that your “male” was actually a hen after laying an egg? Did it make you look at your bird and his/her behaviors differently? Do tell (in a few sentences or less) in the comment section below.

Bogey The Cockatoo Thrives After New Procedure To Heal Chronic Cloacal Prolapse

January 19, 2022 by Matt Rowe
umbrella cockatoo Bogey perched on branch of a play gym by toy
Bogey’s surgery required a three-week hospital stay, but the results were worth the long stay. Bogey is a visibly happier bird. Image courtesy of Exotic Avian Sanctuary of Tennessee (EAST)

For many hundreds of years, medical science has slowly advanced to its current state of remarkability. Even so, science is consistently working hard to get further within the mechanism of many diseases as well as to learn viable ways of bringing repair to a body afflicted.

Throughout many of those long-ago years, animal health was largely neglected. It wasn’t until the later years of the 18th century that veterinary sciences began. With that, as with human health advancements, animal health has come a long way. We’re amazed at every new kind of procedure that allows for better and extended living in the creatures that we’ve grown to love.

EAST Offers Sanctuary

Kim Hannah of Exotic Avian Sanctuary of Tennessee (EAST) is an avid lover of life. From caring for a displaced Red Wasp queen to 24/7 caring for 80 exotic birds in her self-built aviary, Hannah has long been a champion of life. One of her birds, a 23-year-old umbrella cockatoo named Bogey, repeatedly exhibited a cloacal prolapse, whereby the inner tissues of the cloaca protrude from the bird’s body, causing terrible irritation of the sensitized tissue.

closeup view of Bogey's protruding collapsed cloaca
Bogey the cockatoo suffered from chronic cloacal prolapse for years before finally finding relief after being treated by Christoph Mans, a clinical associate professor of zoological medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Image courtesy of Exotic Avian Sanctuary of Tennessee (EAST)

The cloaca is the singular outlet for the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts. The results of chronic cloacal prolapse can have devastating effects on a bird. The infection itself can cause bleeding and possible loss of the bird’s blood supply. It can lead to depression, blood in the droppings, straining episodes, and even death.

Bogey, who has been in the care of EAST since 2019, began experiencing the severity for 16 years and had to be treated repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — by her previous guardian since 2005, the year of her first prolapse. Bogey had been treated using a multitude of hopeful procedures, none of which worked. One such procedure was performed last September but led to Bogey experiencing the prolapse again two short weeks afterward.

That experience led to the one thing no one wants to hear, that nothing else could be done to alleviate the condition. But Kim Hannah is not a quitter.

Bogey Gets Relief

She found possible help with the medical staff of the University of Wisconsin in the person of Dr. Christoph Mans, who is a Clinical Associate Professor of Zoological Medicine at their School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Mans had previously read a promising paper on a novel treatment for the problem and agreed to take on Bogey as a patient.

The surgery required a three-week hospital stay for the innovative procedure, but the result was amazing, with Bogey becoming a visibly happy bird. With the surgery behind Bogey for more than a year, there has been no relapse. Hannah credits the expertise of Dr. Mans with giving Bogey a new lease on life. Currently, Bogey receives a hormone implant every six months.

The funding for the procedure was raised via Facebook. With many generous donations to the special procedure, the bill was paid in full. Even better, the success of the procedure encourages not only Dr. Mans in exploring it further, but others to learn the procedure and even advance it to further its effectiveness.

We’re not only pleased for Bogey, but we’re also extremely proud of Hannah for her tenacity and to Dr. Mans for his willingness. We love that medical sciences for our animals are advancing at a great rate, just like this procedure.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Echo — The Parrots And People Of Bonaire

January 17, 2022 by Ann Brooks
a yellow-shouldered Amazon parrot perched on a board, perhaps a fence
image courtesy of Echo

Bonaire is a small island in the Caribbean, just north of South America’s Venezuela. It is one of the native homes to the yellow-shouldered parrot (Amazona barbadenis). This Amazon is considered vulnerable to the threat of extinction, and their numbers are dwindling in other countries. But in Bonaire, their future is looking hopeful thanks to the good works of Echo.

Echo was formed in 2010 by Sam Williams, whom you may know from his continuing conservation programs in other parts of Central America. He was followed as Director by Lauren Schmaltz, who is now the U.S. Administrator for the World Parrot Trust. In 2018, the Directorship passed to Julianka Clarenda, a Bonaire native. There are also six local Bonairians on staff. This is the way that conservation succeeds, when the local population assumes leadership to protect their country’s diversity and wildlife.

The local people fondly refer to the yellow-shouldered Amazon as Lora. Perhaps prior to colonization hundreds of years ago, this parrot lived primarily in trees. Once there were fewer trees, Lora adapted to nesting in both the cliffs and trees, a testament to the resilience and adaptability of parrots. At night, these parrots roost in flocks, often in people’s gardens. By day, like most Amazon species, they spend time with only their immediate family. They form long-term monogamous pair bonds, maintaining the same partner across consecutive breeding seasons, though mate switching has been recorded.

Some Accomplishments Of Echo

a group of children and adults pose for a photo in a native plant nursery
image courtesy Echo

In 1980, there were about 400 Lora on Bonaire. Today there are close to 1,200, thanks to Echo’s many conservation projects. For example, Echo created a nursery to grow native plants and trees in order to lead an intense reforestation effort. Once these plants are strong enough, volunteers install fencing to keep out the goats. Then volunteers are recruited for planting, even the children in summer camp help. A whopping 13,000 trees have been planted in the last three years!

looking down on two young yellow-shouldered Amazon parrots in a nest
image courtesy of Echo

Echo also runs a Conservation Center where three pairs of Amazons are breeding for release. These permanent residents are birds that cannot be safely released due to prior injuries or disabilities, but they are doing a great job of helping conservation by producing chicks that will be released. The Center also takes in confiscated or injured birds, brings them to health, and then releases them back to the wild.

Another important effort by Echo is nest monitoring. If we don’t have the data about the problem, we cannot affect useful solutions. Despite an equal number of nests being monitored both in 2010 and in 2021 (25 nests), our 2021 monitoring showed that 19 nests were successful (a 27% increase) and 43 chicks fledged from those nests (a 72% increase). Unfortunately, Echo also found in 2021 that predation and poaching remain real threats against the growth of the wild population (9 died and 4 were poached). Overall, these are positive numbers moving in the right direction and giving hope for the future of this gorgeous Amazon in its native Bonaire!

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes to help with continued reforestation efforts, so that there will be a growing number of trees to support a steady increase of Loras! If you would also like to help, you can make a donation to Echo at its website. You can also listen to a recent presentation by Julianka and Lauren at the Phoenix Landing website.

Avian Vet Insider: Cardiovascular Disease In Pet Birds–Special Time 11 a.m. PST

January 13, 2022 by lafebercares

banner for webinar about cardiovascular disease in pet birds

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider — Cardiovascular Disease in Pet Birds

Date: Friday, February 11, 2022

Special Time: 11:00 am PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Dr. Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will talk about Cardiovascular Disease in pet birds, including the most common form — atherosclerosis.

What is cardiovascular disease? How does it happen? How do we diagnose it? And what can we do if we expect it? Dr. Lamb will answer these questions and discuss some cases in this insider’s view of the daily happenings at your Avian Vet’s clinic.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



Webinar: The Grey Way: The Healthy Grey – Keeping Your Bird Healthy And Happy

January 13, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: The Grey Way: The Healthy Grey — Keeping Your Bird Healthy & Happy

Date: Friday, February 18, 2022

Special Time: 12:00 pm PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar about keeping African greys and other parrots healthy and happyJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and operator of The Platinum Parrot and a certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, presents Episode 8 of The Grey Way, a Lafeber Pet Birds Webinar Series focusing on Congo & Timneh African grey parrots as pets.

In this episode, Lisa discusses what we can do at home to keep our birds healthy & safe by working with your avian veterinarian. She discusses the importance of physical and mental health by maintaining a healthy environment, both through cleaning and enrichment for your birds and providing a healthy diet. She will also discuss the importance of routine vet exams, including routine bloodwork, which can reveal unknown issues.

While Lisa will focus on Grey-centric concerns, her information will apply to any pet bird species.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



Ask The Vet With Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

January 13, 2022 by lafebercares

Webinar: Ask the Vet with Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

Date: Friday, February 25, 2022

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

banner for webinar about ask the vet questions for pet bird healthJoin us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian), will answer your questions about pet bird health, nutrition, care, and behavior problems. Is your bird’s problem health-related or behavioral? Are you offering the right foods to your pet bird? Ask the Vet!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



Utah High School Is All About The Birds With Its Groundbreaking Aviary

January 10, 2022 by Matt Rowe
birds in the aviary at Farmington High School
photo courtesy Farmington High School

Aviaries are found in many places including zoos, rehoming and rescue centers, and colleges. The purpose of an aviary is to provide as natural an environment as can be attained for the birds housed within them.

For rescue and care facilities, aviaries give a comforting world to a neglected, unwanted, or otherwise abused bird that needs to be nursed back to health, physically and emotionally. For colleges, they are housing for studied birds designed for learning experiences. And for zoos, they are the only way to display the birds that reside in them, often for life.

Beyond these types of places, aviaries are typically unheard of, as they carry a great expense and high level of upkeep. But a high school in Utah has done what has not been done before — built a bird aviary for the students.

A School For The Birds

Farmington, Utah, is a small town with an approximate population of around 25,000 people. Farmington High School is a relatively new building for Farmington, having been built in 2018. With around 1,500 students and an average cumulative GPA of 3.34, Farmington High has a lot going for it.

In what is likely viewed as a rarity in option, the school offered a starting course in ornithology due to increasing national interest in birds. The program, initiated by science chair, Adam Blundell, has gained in popularity since its inception. As the program consistently matures, students are now lined up to get into the class. In fact, Blundell states, “I have students who absolutely love working with birds. They love this field, and they love my class. They want to be here and be a part of this, and in fact, they just won’t leave. They’re just here all of the time.”

The curriculum for the ornithology classes dives into the study of bird care as well as developing working habits in maintaining a functional aviary. Such in-depth teaching can only have a positive influence on students. The popularity of the courses has allowed it to expand into advanced courses that help students interested in careers in avian care and more advanced studies.

Building Spaces To Learn About Birds

a greenwing macaw on a perch in the aviary at Farmington High School
Image courtesy Farmington High School

Last year, the birds used in the classroom needed a better place to stay, so the idea of an aviary was advanced. Promptly approved, the aviary was built and now houses the birds that represent multiple areas of study in the ornithology classes.

A pair of green-winged macaws help represent the South America study, red-crested turaco and a variety of finches represent the Africa exhibit, and Grasskeets and Eastern Rosellas represent the Australia study. Other divisions include Raptor, Horticulture and Botany, Animal Enrichment, and of course, the design of the exhibits. Mr. Blundell remains as the aviary curator.

A fourth exhibit featuring the Rainforest is being planned, with the hope to acquire Toucans and installing misting fixtures. A funding program is half funded for this ambitious project.

The aviary partitions are built in the center of the school with a glass front that allows for students to view the birds from the hallways. The students are assigned aviary care projects and happily attend to them. Some students have helped to build the aviary.

birds in the Farmington High School aviary beside a sign noting it's the Farmington Aviary
Lafeber has been active in the school program by supplying lower-cost overrun bulk food so the birds can enjoy nutritional, balanced diets.

The birds selected for the studies and that are housed in the aviary are rescue birds. They were unable to be returned to the wild. The care they receive in the school’s aviary is special. They are properly fed, provided freshwater, and well-looked after. Owls and falcons are planned for future exhibits but are dependent on future funding.

Lafeber has been active in the school program by supplying lower-cost overrun bulk food for the birds’ diets. This helps the birds and the burgeoning aviary program immensely.

The beauty of a high school aviary and ornithology classes in a high school setting is that both help to contribute to the awareness of our prized birds of the wild. Bringing this awareness to younger than collegiate-age students with hands-on experience can only deliver future thinkers into the field of advanced studies of all birds.

We celebrate the offering of bird awareness programs for all ages. The news of a ‘first of its kind’ high school aviary hopefully will jumpstart a trend in such projects for other high schools.

Watch a video on this unique Farmington High School aviary here.

Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: The Parrots Hold Out For Bigger Treats

January 3, 2022 by Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
two African grey parrots on opposite perches looking away from each other
Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

Most of the time, our parrots find the tasks we present to them interesting, if challenging, and they really seem to enjoy doing the various trials. They carefully watch us set up the equipment; Griffin will often start asking for a reward (“Wanna nut!”), both to signal us to hurry up and about his readiness to participate.

Despite his request, they mostly get other types of rewards instead of nuts — the chance to interact with the object that they’ve just identified (e.g., to chew on the wood or paper they have correctly labeled), vocal comments (we tell them “Good job!”), and responses to their specific requests (“TICKLE!”). However, nuts are standard for some of the types of choice tasks I describe below. I’ve written previously about times when none of these rewards were enough to get them to continue a task, and, of course, sometimes they just won’t cooperate at all! Lately, they’ve come up with new tactics. But first some background.

Alex — Master Manipulator

African grey parrot with head stuck in mug with photo of African grey parrot on the side
Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

Alex was a master of noncompliance. If he didn’t want to work during a given session, he would avert his gaze from the tray that held the equipment for the task, would avoid making eye contact with the tester, and instead would endlessly preen, request to be returned to his cage (“Wanna go back!) or demand treats (“Want corn!”, “Want cork!”) that he’d then immediately discard. Sometimes he would utter strings of irrelevant labels (e.g., ones unrelated to the task at hand). Whenever he acted thusly (Pepperberg, 1992; Pepperberg & Gordon, 2005; Pepperberg & Lynn, 2000), we ended the session.

In the worst case, he would respond with all the possible wrong answers to a given question and then repeat them (sometimes for a total of 12 times); statistically, that is impossible unless he knew the correct answer and was carefully avoiding it (Pepperberg & Lynn, 2000)! Usually that happened when we were at the end of an experiment and he had already done a large number of trials — and was obviously bored. Sometimes it seemed as though he were trying to tell us that he thought that we were incredibly stupid. As far as he was concerned, he had already TOLD us the answer many times, and yet we still kept asking the same dumb questions!

Nevertheless, even though repeatedly questioning the birds on the same topic can be boring, we have to engage in such repetition to achieve statistical significance: One correct answer could just be luck, but 18/20 correct answers mean that the subject really understands how to solve the problem.

Interestingly, Griffin seems to have learned some of this undesirable conduct from Alex. He, too, sometimes exhibits the same types of noncompliance behavior patterns (Pepperberg & Nakayama, 2016), all of which can be extremely frustrating.

Griffin & Athena Strike For Bigger Rewards

African grey parrot perched on food bowl on table being watched by nearby African grey parro perched on a stand
Griffin eyes his breakfast somewhat suspiciously while Athena looks on. Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

Recently, Griffin and Athena have come up with another way to demonstrate that they simply do not want to work in a given situation — throwing their rewards in our faces! Then they literally went on “strike”— it seemed in order to demand larger pieces of nut.

What happened was the following. We had been doing a series of different tasks in which both birds have to choose their answer by tapping on an object. In a few tasks, they must find and then extract the reward; we thus have to use something like half a cashew as the target so that it can easily be tracked. That amount of nut is a windfall; most of the time, the tasks involve giving them two or three choices, and if they act appropriately (e.g., they correctly respond to “Choose X” rather than Y or Z), they receive a sixteenth or at most an eighth of a nut.

After scoring just a bit above chance for several weeks on the latter type of studies (not great, but an indication that they were learning the tasks), they both began sessions by doing a single trial, taking and tossing their reward in our faces, and then preening and ignoring us. Or they would score 0/10. As I noted above, that type of score implies they know the appropriate response and deliberately choose to avoid the correct answer!

Needless to say, their behavior made data collection very difficult, and we usually ended the session and tried another task. My research assistants (RAs) kept thinking that the birds’ behavior was a consequence of a problem with the protocol, and spent a lot of time thinking up ways to change how we presented the tasks. But, looking at the situation from the birds’ point of view, I had another idea. I tried doubling the size of the reward — to roughly a quarter of a cashew.

I was pretty annoyed, but — unlike my RAs — not the least surprised, when Griffin scored 100% and Athena 80% on the very next set of trials. Had they really worked together to force us to cede to their demands? Of course, one never knows what actually is going on in their birdie brains, but it sure seemed as though that was the case. And, of course, to keep from overloading them with nuts, we can now do only half as many trials per session. Interestingly, they don’t seem to like having sessions cut short, and now sometimes balk at leaving the training perch. It will be interesting to see what happens next!

 

References

Pepperberg, I. M. (1992). Proficient performance of a conjunctive, recursive task by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 106, 295–305.

Pepperberg, I. M., & Gordon, J. D. (2005). Number comprehension by a Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), including a zero-like concept. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 119, 197–209.

Pepperberg, I. M., & Lynn, S. K. (2000). Perceptual consciousness in Grey parrots. American Zoologist, 40, 393–401.

Pepperberg, I. M., & Nakayama, K. (2016). Robust representation of shape in a Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Cognition, 153(21), 146–160.

 

Meet SNAG, The Flying Avian Robot

December 28, 2021 by Matt Rowe

During our own childhoods, many of us only envisioned robots as plot material for science fiction novels. As the years progressed, the idea of a functional — and useful — robot of any kind slowly took hold, and science produced many variations of them. Now, robots are becoming commonplace, not only in marketplaces and in science-related fields but also on paper as potential breakthrough realities that may change how we live. And so it is with awe that we have a robotic bird that can mimic the perch ability of a peregrine falcon.

Stanford University engineers ran two labs that studied several key interests. One was the study of animal-inspired robots headed by Mark Cutkosky, and the other, a study of a bird-inspired aerial robot headed by David Lentink. (Lentink is currently with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, where he continues his research.) Both bodies of accumulated research were drawn from studies of birds to help create a robot that was able to perch using the same flight and land principles that birds use to land on surface variations. Yes, that’s an amazing emerging science for whatever applications that might be found for this practicality.

Parrotlets Nail The Landings

green-rumped parrotlet perched on branch outside
Photo of green-rumped parrotlet by Jam.mohd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The researchers, with lead study author William Roderick, PhD, have used parrotlets for their flight and grasping studies. (Roderick was a graduate student in both labs mentioned above.) Using video from five high-speed cameras, researchers were able to meticulously document birds’ instinct to land on a variety of surfaces.

It was determined that the parrotlet used the exact same technique of landing and perching no matter what surface they chose to land on. Essentially, the studies concluded that the bird lets the feet adjust and immediately adapt to the various types of surface textures they perch on. Researchers have even used several configurations of feet with toes in front and back with the same results.

Each leg is independently motorized with two motors — one for moving and one for grasping.  The muscles and tendons of a bird are replicated using fishing line. The algorithm programmed into the legs allows for stabilization of the unit once the robot has grasped its perch. Amazingly, the robot can grasp a thrown object and land unerringly. Of course, the science around these new sets of tests is heavily involved and would require more than this article to convey the successes it has chalked up.

The Future Of SNAG

raptor with wings spread perched on small tree trunk indoors
Parrotlet-sized legs would be too small for the “avian bot.” To account for the size of the quadcopter, SNAG’s “legs” are based on those of a peregrine falcon. Photo by moonzigg/Pixabay

Many things can be imagined for applications of a refined robot that flies. Suggestions include search and rescue missions, possible undisturbed wildlife and environmental explorations and observations, and furthering avian studies with rehabilitation possibilities. An active mind can come up with even more ideas and applications of a developing robot bird based on the flight of actual birds.

The robot was dubbed SNAG, an acronym for Stereotyped Nature-inspired Aerial Grasper. It is the hope of the researchers to be able to more ably investigate the natural world in a non-invasive manner of data accumulation. This will be especially true once these robotic birds become more sophisticated and highly accurate study tools.

You can watch a short video on this incredible creation. Further study can be done at the Science Robotics journal.

Winter Prep For Backyard Birding

December 20, 2021 by Matt Rowe
wild jay perched on snow-covered branch outside
Photo by TomaszProszek/Pixabay

Fall is in full view, and winter is just ahead. With that, it’s time to approach an important part of our backyard bird-watching experience with the readying of advice. Summer celebrates the full array of birds that prefer various locations, but fall and winter are important as they present new, sometimes challenging aspects to the health and acceptance of our birds in the wild.

There are many varieties of backyard birders. Some go to great detail-driven lengths to attract birds. With specialty housing, cameras, specialty foods, and a collection of watering solutions, they maintain a backyard paradise for birds. Others are more casual in their birding experiences and simply ensure the timely and continuous placement of food. Birders of all kinds derive visual enjoyment from watching birds partake in the efforts. A mental state is often achieved with birding that feeds a needed happiness and contentment within us. But to fully enjoy the effort, care must be undertaken in our efforts.

Keep It Clean

It’s important to be sure that all feeders are cleaned on a consistent basis. This is so that diseases carried by birds are not passed on to other birds needlessly. Typically, fall washing of feeders can be achieved with hot, soapy water. Extra precaution can be provided by using a small amount of bleach in your washing solution, followed by thorough rinsing. Not only should this be done per season, but it should be done more frequently, perhaps even monthly (or more).

Extra Food For Winter

blue jay at bird feeder outside in winter
Photo by meganzopf/Pixabay

Proper food that includes seeds and suet should be amply provided, especially when a winter storm is forecast. Cold weather requires expending energy by birds. Available food helps with replenishment of energy to keep warm. Suet provides a great source of energy for birds. And remember that suet feeders need strong cleaning as well as traditional feeders. During the winter months, there is no such thing as too much food.

Water Needs

Water is quite important for birds. With winter temps dropping and freezing many sources of available water, it can be a lifesaver that flowing water is available to them. Some backyard birders provide water sources. In the winter months in colder areas, the water can be kept liquid using de-icing birdbaths. They keep the temperature just right to avoid water freezing during freezing snaps and adjust accordingly as the temperatures rise. As with feeders, birdbaths should be maintained as clean as possible to avoid the transfer of diseases that can hurt birds.

Winter Housing Needs

birdhouse on tree with snow on the roof
Photo by Michael Starkie/Unsplash

Housing turns from nests to roosts as birds utilize them to help keep warmer during seasonal cold blasts. As with feeders, the roosts should be clean and inviting for birds that are apt to embrace their use. Such shelter is often used as a temporary respite from the cold and should be represented as a place for necessary shelter. Active birders can have several of these makeshift roosts strategically placed around the yard.

Birding is rewarded by a beautiful vision of peace as the birds take full advantage of the things you have provided them. You get enviable photo opportunities, a double, sometimes triple dose of happiness, and the comfort of knowing that you have taken the time to make life easier for our flying friends of nature.

Winter is tough for everyone and everything. Simple preparations for our birds will yield the best of winter for you and them.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Macaw Recovery Network In Costa Rica

December 15, 2021 by Ann Brooks

The Macaw Recovery Network (MRN) has a long history of saving parrots from the edge of extinction. Headquartered and registered in Costa Rica, it leads and executes an impressive number of growing projects. However, the larger admirable goal of MRN is to continue expanding its collaborative network and projects across the Americas. The name says it all — to build strength through collaboration with other conservation programs, and with people who cherish the preservation of parrots in the wild.

scarlet macaw perched on branch outside holding food in one foot
photo courtesy Macaw Recovery Network

Its main conservation programs involve:

  • breeding for reintroduction to natural habitats
  • monitoring and research of wild parrot populations
  • habitat protection and restoration
  • community empowerment

MRN has developed strong programs in each of these key areas. Following are some examples.

Protecting Wild Populations

In Costa Rica, MRN teams are monitoring and protecting the critically endangered great green macaw across Costa Rica, scarlet macaws in Guanacaste province, and the endangered yellow-naped Amazon across its range in Costa Rica. Since habitat loss and poaching continue to cause the greatest risks, MRN teams are developing strategies to prevent both of these in the future.

yellow-naped Amazon parrot perched on tree branch looking down at camera
Wild yellow-naped Amazon; image courtesy Macan Recovery Network
yellow-naped Amazon parrot perched on branch of flowering bush outside
Yellow-naped Amazon; image courtesy Macaw Recovery Network

Breeding For Reintroduction

Despite obstacles for funding and staffing during the pandemic, MRN is still planning to release 28 great green macaw juveniles and 13 scarlet macaw juveniles in 2022. These reintroductions aim to restore populations to areas where those species have gone extinct.

Habitat Loss

mountain almond trees growing in the wild in a forest
Great green macaws rely heavily on the endangered mountain almond tree as their primary source of food and nesting. Image courtesy Macaw Recovery Network

Some parrot species have evolved to eat very specialized diets, so any loss of these food groups can make repopulation even harder. For example, the endangered mountain almond tree is a primary source of food and nesting (about 85% of its diet & 90% of known nests are in this tree!) for the great green macaw. Funded through a crowdfunding campaign, MRN brilliantly created a native tree nursery in 2020 to germinate native trees and plant seedlings, those most needed for parrot populations to grow and thrive.

Community Outreach

In 2021, ten women who lost their jobs during the pandemic were recruited to form the Women Rangers in the town of Boca Tapada. They were trained and each assigned to monitor their own great green macaw pair, which involved many early mornings during an entire breeding season. And now, through ongoing funding made available by the Disney Foundation, they are building another native tree nursery in their local town, and taking on the challenge to work with local schools to regrow the forests that were lost in recent years.

woman planting a native tree that is needed by great green macaws
A woman ranger plants a tree as part of a native tree nursery for great green macaws. Image courtesy Macaw Recovery Network

This year, the Macaw Recovery Network began planning the expansion of its network beyond Costa Rica, a very laudable goal! To succeed in parrot conservation, we must work together for the common goal of preserving species and habitats, and build more opportunities for their populations to grow.

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes to help the pre-release assessments of the juveniles to ensure each individual bird is a suitable candidate for a life in the wild. If you would also like to help, you can make a donation to the Macaw Recovery Network.

Companion Parrots Need Busy Work To Thrive

December 8, 2021 by Matt Rowe
African grey parrot on perch in cage playing with toy
Photo by jaanasaksman/Pixabay

In the wild, creatures of all kinds have a level of differing intelligence that assists them in their daily existence. None of this is a surprise. It stands to reason that the ability to process thoughts, decipher problematic situations that occlude the way of necessity and the ability to get along is quite the requirement for any creature — humans included.

For our beloved parrots, a collection of scientific tests and published studies over the decades has uncovered just how smart these majestic exotic birds are. With each study, we find their ability to think logically and to react appropriately and favorably far outweigh our previous understanding. In short, we’re not only learning the vast depths of parrot intelligence, but in so learning, we develop a new understanding of not just birds, but other creatures as well.

The Need For Mental Stimulation

Let’s concentrate on the parrots that are in our homes rather than in the wild. What of their intelligence? Well, we already know they’re smart. But it’s important to recognize that most of the birds in our homes are typically the only one in the setting. In that, they are deprived of a hive learning process. Recently, researchers at the University of Guelph (Canada), University of Bristol (UK), and Utrecht University (Netherlands) studied large-brained parrots in homes. They determined that birds in a home setting need continued and intense stimulation to improve the mental capacity they can achieve.

Food For Thought

double yellow-headed Amazon on perch eating an Avi-Cake
Amazon parrot with Avi-Cakes.

This new study drew on results from a 1990 study that looked at abnormal behavior in the cage — pacing, biting bars, and other concerning behaviors. That study looked at unchallenging diets, generic housing methods, and a host of other things to recognize how such creatures adjusted to a different life away from their accustomed and wild environment.

It was discovered that a diet of standard seed, insects, and nuts was typically not the best diet to provide to a bird in the home or a zoo setting. Rather, more complex feeding was determined to be best. This gave the parrots a chance to spend a large amount of time foraging and working to extract their foods, a process they readily did in the wild.

Birds in homes are not the only ones impacted by this. In fact, the birds in zoo settings have as much need, if not more. The results of this new study revealed empirically that many large-brained creatures struggled mentally in caged -or closed-in settings.

How To Help Your Feathered Pal

To prevent our birds from becoming mentally corralled leading to adverse behavior, it’s recommended that more mental stimulation be provided. Puzzles that pique the interest of the bird, and a naturalized aviary setting can go a long way in providing the mental stimulation that your bird requires. In fact, understanding the kind of bird that you have in your home can go a long way in helping them exist in a healthy manner — both physically and mentally.

It is estimated that most exotic birds alive today are pets inside homes. This puts an extraordinary responsibility on the owner to ensure that their bird receives the proper mental and physical stimulation, challenging foods, and excellent health care.

If your bird is exhibiting concerning behavior like feather-biting and plucking, take the time to explore what might help them to better exist in their current setting.

This new study was recently published in the Biological Sciences journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Helping Australia’s Gang-Gang Cockatoos Bounce Back

December 1, 2021 by Matt Rowe
gang gang cockatoo perched on branch outdoors
Gang-gang cockatoo. Photo by AmyJo_Freelance_Artist/Pixabay

Declines in numbers for many of our exotic birds have plagued the parrot world for many decades. Some of the majestic birds have already become extinct. This includes birds like the New Caledonian Lorikeet, which has been unseen since 1987. Others include the Spix’s Macaw, which has not been seen in the wild since 2000. A small collection of Spix’s macaw are in captivity, so there is hope for a fruitful return to their natural habitat. Of course, there are other species, far too many for any comfort level.

Recently, the alert has been raised for the gang-gang cockatoo, an Australian native bird endemic to the southeastern regions of the continent.

Slow But Steady Decline

Once considered a vibrant and productive species, the gang-gang cockatoo population in Australia has been in decline over the past two decades. The widespread bushfires that decimated much of the continent’s flora and animal population in recent years have further impacted the concerns of extinction.

Due to the fires, the community of gang-gang cockatoos were impacted by the loss of natural nesting locations, referred to as hollows. Before the fires, a noticeable population decline had already been attached to the bird. The fires further declined that by approximately 25%, which is all by itself a frightening downward percentile. With climate issues and other changes to habitats looming, along with more fire threats, the gang-gang cockatoo could be nearly wiped out if steps aren’t taken to change things.

In efforts to help reverse declines for the gang-gang cockatoo (and other creatures), the Eurobodalla Shire Council, an organization that oversees many aspects of the Australian world including conservation, environment controls, land oversight, and much, much more, has begun to build nest boxes to replace the loss of the natural nesting hollows.

Currently, the conservation status does not appropriately indicate the dangers of reduction to the once-vibrant population of these birds. Listed as vulnerable, the council and a collected team of biologists and researchers have asked for “endangered” status. It is hoped that reassessment will lead to a proper designation, which itself will lead to better funding.

A project is underway that hopes to discover where the gang-gang cockatoos have been sighted so that nesting boxes can be constructed in proper areas. For now, there’s not much else left but to fervently hope that these nesting boxes will encourage the bird to breed.

A Striking Red Head

The gang-gang cockatoo is a beautiful bird with a gray body and a red head. The head sports a mohawk-like crest that gives the bird a uniquely beautiful appearance. Their sounds are said to be like that of a “creaky gate,” or a “cork being pulled from a bottle.”

They can be a difficult bird to care for. They have aggressive natures and should be paired. But pairing could result in two birds not liking each other well enough to produce effective home environments. It is their existence in a changing world that is most important, especially when their adopted homeland is fire-ravaged as it has been with the recent bushfires.

It is important to create public awareness of all our creatures that have been challenged with their habitats. Let us all hope for an enduring and fruitful outcome for these beautiful birds.

Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Yes, Our Birds Mean What They Say

November 17, 2021 by Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
Griffin the African grey parrot standing on a table and giving a "look"
An old picture of a “grumpy Griffin,” to give you an idea of the kind of looks we get when our behavior is not what he would consider satisfactory. Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

The most common question I get at events like parties, when I tell people that I train parrots to communicate with humans in English, is, “But do they really understand what they are saying?”

I have 40-plus years of data and probably over a hundred publications to demonstrate that such is indeed the case. Sometimes, however, it is the anecdote — the once-in-a-blue-moon, not-possible-to-reproduce, I-can’t-believe-that-just-happened-incident — that transforms the general public into believers. These incidents can never hold up to scientific scrutiny, and at most can be the impetus to begin a serious scientific study, but they are consistently interesting and valuable.

Alex Chimes In

It is always exciting when the incident does lead to a series of experiments. Such was the case when we were training Griffin to respond to auditory numbers — sets of clicks. At the time, we made sure that the inter-click intervals were of random lengths and that the lengths of the sounds constituting the clicks were also random so that Griffin could not merely respond to the amount of sound or stimulus duration, but rather had to attend to the exact number.

We were working with “two,” and Griffin simply was not interested. I had clicked twice, asked, “How many?” and Griffin ignored me. I started over: “Griffin, pay attention! Listen! (two clicks) How many?” Again, Griffin continued to preen. Behind me, Alex, from his cage, piped up with a very clear FOUR. I told him he was wrong, that the answer was TWO, and gave Griffin one more chance. Alex then very clearly produced SIH (his label at the time for “six”).

DUH…I realized that Alex was adding the clicks! We quickly designed a study, based on work my colleague Sally Boysen had done with her apes (Boysen & Berntson, 1989), and showed that Alex could indeed sum small quantities of objects, and then Arabic numerals (Pepperberg, 2006, 2012).

Without any training, Alex also transferred his use of the label “none” from indicating a lack of similarity or difference in a pair of objects to the absence of a specific quantity. The details are in Pepperberg & Gordon (2005); basically, he manipulated me into asking him to identify a null set — so that he could use “none”— and that led to our study of his understanding of a zero-like concept.

Choosing What To Follow Up

Sometimes we intended to follow up on an incident, as with Alex’s famous, untrained, and very unexpected spelling out of N-U-T during a demonstration of what was supposed to be a simple identification of sound-letter associations (Pepperberg, 2008). Unfortunately, we never got around to testing him on other possible combinations.

And sometimes the incident is definitely something that we do not care to replicate, as when a student forgot to give Athena fresh water one morning…and she very clearly and, apparently intentionally, uttered WATER. Water deprivation is clearly a situation that we certainly do not want to happen in our lab deliberately! Athena has never again said WATER, even when she is trying to get us to do something like extend her shower. She had, however, made her point.

Griffin Makes His Thoughts Clear

Recently, Griffin added to our anecdote list. Suzanne, our long-time lab manager, who is also a post-doctoral fellow with us this year, was giving the birds a break from sessions. She had Griffin on one hand, was tickling his head with the other, but wasn’t giving him her full attention as she was also trying to read a journal article. Griffin kept saying TICKLE; she would stop reading briefly, completely attend to his needs for a short while, then go back to reading. He kept repeating his request. After a few such repetitions, he blurted out an extremely loud PAPER while he reached over, grabbed the article, threw it to the floor, and then stared at her directly and demanded TICKLE! It was quite clear what he thought of her behavior!

As I said at the outset, I’ve spent over 40 years collecting data and publishing papers to convince my scientific colleagues that my parrots really do have symbolic reference. Formally, the definition is that it “involves semantic and pragmatic use of noniconic symbols — be they auditory/vocal, manual, or lexical — to stand for (but not be limited to) items such as physical objects and their attributes, various concepts, relations among these items and concepts, actions that can be done to or with these items, and comments about these items (e.g., relating to past/ future/hypothetical issues).” (Pepperberg, 2021).

But sometimes it is the simple anecdote that helps people understand the intelligence of these parrots.

Glossary

Semantic: Involving the meanings of symbols

Pragmatic: Involving practical use

Noniconic: An arbitrary relationship. For example, an iconic representation of a dog by a child is the use of the term “bowwow”; noniconic representations are the labels “dog,” “chien,” etc. that have nothing canine-like about them

Lexical: Generally refers to something written

References

Boysen, S. T., & Berntson, G. G. (1989). Numerical competence in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 103, 23–31.

Pepperberg, I. M. (2006). Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) numerical abilities: addition and further experiments on a zero-like concept. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 120, 1–11.

Pepperberg, I.M. (2008). Alex & Me. New York: Harper-Collins.

Pepperberg, I. M. (2012). Further evidence for addition and numerical competence by a Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Animal Cognition, 15, 711–717.

Pepperberg, I.M. (2021). Nonhuman and nonhuman-human communication: Some issues and questions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12:647841. Doi: 103389/fpsyg.2021.647841.

Pepperberg, I. M., & Gordon, J. D. (2005). Numerical comprehension by a Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), including a zero-like concept. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 119, 197–209.

Webinar: What’s Wrong With That Bird?!? Rare And Fascinating Avian Medicine Cases

November 17, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider — What’s Wrong With That Bird?!? Rare and Fascinating Avian Medicine Cases

Date: Friday, December 3, 2021

Special Time: 11:00 am PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will talk about some of the rare and even fascinating cases that she has seen. While any pet bird illness or injury can be scary and traumatic for the bird and owner, a rare case can prove to be fascinating as a learning opportunity, which can end up helping other birds with the same illness or injury in the future.

Rare cases often end up being presented at Veterinary Conventions like ExoticsCon. We recently learned why these meetings are so important, and sharing a rare case, no matter the outcome, can teach other avian vets and help other pet birds in the future. Dr. Lamb will detail these rare or less common cases in this insider’s view of the rare happenings at your avian vet’s clinic.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 

Webinar: The Grey Way: Fun For The Holidays! Pet Bird Holiday Gift Guide

November 17, 2021 by Laura Doering

Webinar: The Grey Way—Fun for the Holidays! Pet Bird Holiday Gift Guide with Lisa Bono, CPBC

Date: Friday, December 10, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine.

Our special guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and operator of The Platinum Parrot and a certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, presents Episode 7 of The Grey Way, a Lafeber Pet Birds Webinar Series focusing on Congo & Timneh African grey parrots as pets.

In this fun holiday episode, Lisa will showcase holiday-themed, custom-made toys for your pet birds! She will discuss the best toys for different species, and go over safe materials and textures to tempt your feathered friends, keeping them enriched and happy. All of the toys featured can be ordered for your own bird or as the perfect gift for a friend’s bird. There will also be giveaways of toys and Lafeber products for some lucky viewers!

While Lisa will address some Grey-centric toy preferences, the toys featured in this webinar will be appropriate for all pet birds.

This very special Holiday Webinar is generously sponsored by Lafeber Company & The Platinum Parrot as well as the companies who donated prizes. Prizes include Lafeber diets, toys from The Platinum Parrot,  a Tabletop Tree Stand with toys from King’s Cages, a Pak-O-Bird carrier from Celltei, a heat panel from Sweeter Heater & additional toy donations from Bonka, Caitec, Mighty Bird Toys, Parrot Toy Workshop, Parrots Treasure, Super Bird Creations & More!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 


 

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A With Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

November 17, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A with Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

Date: Friday, December 17, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian), will answer your questions about pet bird health, nutrition, care, and behavior problems. Is your bird’s problem health-related or behavioral? Are you offering the right foods to your pet bird? Ask the Vet!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 



 

Dazzling Scarlet Macaw Cross-Stitch Wins First Place

November 9, 2021 by Matt Rowe
scarlet macaw art
photo courtesy Philip Brill

Art is a uniquely experienced event. Whether it be a painting, a photograph, a piece of music, or a written word, art is something that says different things to different people. Art that features birds has been around for a long time. The earliest discovered art featuring birds has been found on cave walls. Even then, they were used as descriptive experiences. Lafeber has celebrated the art of birds in almost every medium imaginable. No surprise. Birds are so deeply enmeshed within the human experience that they are completely irretraceable. And who would deny such a thing anyway?  Art, even ancient art, shows us just how important birds have been to us, and continue to be. For some, such art can be time-consuming but essential to the expression of what birds mean to us.

Cross-Stitch Art Captures Beauty Of Scarlet Macaw

Philip Brill recently won First Place for a brilliant cross-stitch work that took over 1,000 hours and more than 18 months of intensive work. The subject of the cross stitch is a beautiful scarlet macaw. The inspiration has a backstory, of course, but the creation is so stunning that it is at once a gorgeous work to view. The work is titled Scarlet Macaw with framed dimensions of 32” by 27”. This large-scale work is representative of his youth visiting Parrot Jungle. It was then that he developed an appreciation of the large beautifully colored exotic bird.

After more than 20 years of experience with the self-taught art of cross-stitching, Philip Brill entered the St. Mary’s County Art Council’s annual Art Walk contest with the completed Scarlet Macaw stitch-work. He walked away with First Place in the 2021 event that highlights local artwork by the residents of the county. The displays are showcased in businesses around the small town of Leonardtown. Viewers of all artwork pieces were encouraged to place their votes for the best art. Scarlet Macaw was placed at North End Gallery throughout the month of September of 2021.

Philip Brill’s Scarlet Macaw cross-stitch is an exquisitely detailed work that not only reveals the beauty of the magnificent bird but also underscores the deep reservoir of patience required to create art at this level.  He chose the subject for the artwork from an early childhood photo of a scarlet macaw perched on his arm. He planned the craft of the piece carefully before actually pushing the first needle through the chosen congress fabric.

For cross-stitchers, this work is on 22-count congress cloth. The stitching is much smaller to produce a more realistic image. The finished work is 215,000 stitches over a 21” by 28” image area. The actual photo was digitized for the pattern. Sixty thread colors were employed to create this exquisite likeness.

It only takes a single look at the piece to fully appreciate the obvious skill, care, and love that went into its craft. The Scarlet Macaw cross-stitch piece is not for sale and is displayed along with two other bird cross-stitches, both eagles. It has been beautifully and meticulously framed and is expected to become a valued heirloom for generations to enjoy.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Guatemala And The Scarlet Macaw

October 31, 2021 by Ann Brooks

The Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) in Guatemala was created in 1990 to protect the tropical forest in Mesoamerica. After the Amazon, Mesoamerica’s Maya Forest is the largest remaining tropical rainforest in the Americas. The MBR is divided into zones with different status levels. The most protected “core zone” covers about 36% of the MBR and is intended to preclude human settlement, logging, or extraction of resources. There are several ancient Mayan cities within this area, and it is part of a tri-national system of contiguous protected areas spanning Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. It is also home to scarlet macaws. However, this area is facing increased threats due to illegal human settlements, intentional forest fires, oil exploration, and cattle ranching.

While scarlet macaws (Ara macao) in general are not considered high on the IUCN Red List status, the Mesoamerican subspecies (Ara macao cyanoptera) has faced large challenges due to diminishing protections in the “core zone.”  This subspecies is distributed across the Maya Forest and prefers to nest in the Cantemó tree in the Laguna del Tigre National Park, where some of the worst deforestation has occurred.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), in partnership with the Guatemalan government, is working hard to improve and preserve several major macaw nesting sites in this area. For 19 years they have also monitored fledging rates to determine macaw population growth. WCS works very closely with the community, the key to any successful long-term conservation effort. These education and outreach programs continue to grow community support.

scarlet macaw handfeedingTo accelerate recovery of the scarlets in this area, WCS is pulling the low-weight chicks from nests, raising them in a field laboratory, and placing them in foster nests when possible. They are also enlarging possible tree cavities, installing falcon-proof nests, and combatting Africanized bee infestations.

WCS also continues to develop various tracking mechanisms. It appears that the scarlets may migrate several hundred kilometers in different seasons in concert with food sources, rainfall, and nesting behaviors. It is important to understand these migration patterns so that other essential habitats can also be protected. In addition, tracking devices help the field staff to understand survivorship of the fledglings, and if there is a difference between chicks raised by their parents and those raised in the laboratory.

scarlet macaw chicksWCS has top-notch scientists working on conservation programs around the world and they produce many important research studies each year. Their mission is to work with indigenous people in order to build sustainable communities for both people and animals.

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes to much-needed supplies for fieldwork to include natural and artificial nests, gasoline, and supplies in the Laguna del Tigre National Park. If you would also like to help, you can make a donation to the Wildlife Conservation Society at https://www.wcs.org.  Let them know it is specifically for its efforts to preserve and increase the scarlet macaw population in Guatemala.

Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Parrots On The Move—Again!

October 20, 2021 by Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
African grey parrots
African grey parrots Griffin and Athena in their new space, getting ready for a session. Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg

I’ve recently written, several times, about how parrots—and particularly African greys—dislike change in their lives. As prey animals, they realize that any change in their environment can be dangerous; that is, the sign of a predator. Given that (1) change is inevitable and (2) change can often be something positive, we always do our best to mitigate any negative aspects of change. For example, new students in our lab generally spend considerable time just taking care of our parrots—chopping vegetables for breakfast, changing floor papers, etc.—until Griffin and Athena realize that they are not a threat. And, of course, we always “play” with a new toy to show it is safe before introducing it into their cages (although Griffin doesn’t care much for any toy other than a feathered roll of construction paper).

So, when it came time to move the parrots into a new space…where almost everything changes all at once…you can imagine that we had considerable trepidation about how well they would adapt. As it turned out, we weren’t very good at predicting their individual responses. Thus, this blog is more a description of the event than a manual on how to manage a move—although, from experience, I do advise that, if at all possible, it is best to organize their living space and everything around it before they are introduced to their new area, so that they can start habituating immediately.

On the Move…Again

In terms of history, Griffin is far from a novice at moving; Athena has also experienced several relocations. We transferred Griffin from his hatch-place in Georgia to a lab at the University of Arizona. From there, we moved him and Alex to space in the Media Lab at MIT in Massachusetts. After my position there ended abruptly, he and Alex spent several months at the home of a friend until we could arrange for lab space at Brandeis University, where Arthur (who had joined the lab at MIT and spent the interim with a friend in New York) returned to the flock. Both Alex and Arthur passed away while we were at Brandeis, leaving Griffin briefly on his own.

We soon arranged lab space for Griffin at Harvard, and shortly thereafter added Athena, which was yet another change for Griffin. And even while at Harvard, because of construction, we moved from the basement to the 8th floor and back—twice! And then, thanks to COVID, we hastily evacuated from Harvard, settling into a third-floor bedroom at the home of one of my RAs. My RA had signed on for 8 weeks; thus it was definitely time to move on after 18 months and a lessening of COVID restrictions! We recently found a spacious two-bedroom apartment that provides plenty of room for training, testing, and storage, and looked forward to ramping up our research. However, it did mean yet another change for Griffin and Athena.

Feeling at Home in New Home

Specifically, given the totally different floor plan compared to our previous living situations, we couldn’t do much about making things look as they had in any of the earlier spaces. All we could do was put Griffin’s and Athena’s cages in the same relative arrangement—and both cages in the same arrangement to the main door as had been the case at Harvard—and hope for the best!

Given the two birds’ personalities, we expected Griffin to be much more perturbed than Athena. Over the years, we’ve noticed that Athena is a bit more open to interacting with novelty than Griffin; we are not sure why, but she has always been that way. Although she does like to see us play with new toys and eat any new food before she accepts either as safe, she has never had any fear of strangers. Griffin, in contrast, is sensitive to any change. Thus, when it came to settling into their new space, we were quite surprised that Athena actually has had more issues than Griffin.

Although we did everything we could imagine to make the move as trauma-free as possible, Fate intervened in guise of the arrival of the groundskeeping crew on our very first day. I and another RA had the birds in one of the bedrooms while another RA was setting up their cages in the living room, and all of a sudden, weed-wackers and leaf blowers were blasting right outside our window. Both birds spooked, and it took quite a bit of soothing to calm them down.

But once they were in their cages, Griffin settled in almost at once. Granted, the new breakfast spot wasn’t quite to his liking; he lost about 20 grams the first week, but quickly gained it back. Athena, however, was, and still is, often unnerved by the sounds of footsteps from the apartment above us. I’m sure she thinks they indicate some kind of nasty predator, particularly after we have left for the night. She seems less and less nervous each day, but still spooks from time to time and has been plucking her chest feathers.

Given that we can’t do anything about the noise, we’ve taken to ignoring it and acting as though it is simply part of the normal course of events, figuring that if we act nonchalantly, she eventually will do so as well. We talk to her soothingly if she does something like fly off a perch after some particularly loud sound (she knows she’s supposed to fly only on command, so we know that such flight is definitely a response to something she finds particularly scary), but we attempt not to make too big a deal out of the incident—we are trying to get her to habituate, not to think that spooking will lead to increased attention from the RAs.

Interestingly, as expected, Athena is much more comfortable with the several new RAs than is Griffin, and we are hoping that both birds will soon adjust fully. The good news is that they both are beginning to get back into the “research groove,” where we work on several different types of experiments on any given day. Whether all the activity simply serves to distract them, or whether it reminds them of “life before COVID” doesn’t really matter—what does matter is keeping them happy and healthy!

Can Kea Parrots Pass A Virtual Reality Test?

October 13, 2021 by Matt Rowe
kea parrot on ground
Kea parrot. Photo by barni1/Pixabay

Every time we turn our heads, we discover another facet of the intelligence diamond that are parrots. As we technologically advance, research and studies on many things improve. Scientific research can delve deeper into the mind and abilities of parrots and other birds. As they do, they discover amazing new things. None of the new discoveries are mundane or repetitive (“same old, same old”). In fact, they reveal even more brainiac moments of our current birds that underscore their intrinsic ability to become more aware of their surroundings and their need to interact with it. That alone is impressive. Let’s see what our birds are up to now.

A Reality Test

A recently published paper in the scientific journal Biology Letters by three researchers from the University of Auckland further investigated the cognitive capabilities of the endangered Kea parrot. In this new study, the researchers explored the parrot’s interest and ability on a computer touchscreen. In this, the ability of the Kea to distinguish reality versus virtual images of an object was tested to see if they are “naïve realists.” The objective of this testing was to discover whether the birds could separate real from virtual regarding a result. “Naive realists” are unable to determine the difference.

The selected six parrots could manipulate real boxes and get an actual ball return with no problem. They could also replicate that experience using a computerized box to get a virtual ball in return. But the problems occurred when a parrot expected an actual result from the computer manipulation. Actual boxes were then placed on sides of computerized images of the similar box. The six subject parrots became confused when the manipulation of the computer box did not produce an actual ball. A similar test with 19-month-old infants reveals that humans can separate virtual results from actual results where one or the other are expected. The purpose of this similar testing on the Kea was a hope to discover a human-like trait in cognitive recognition. In short, to discover if the Kea – and perhaps other parrots – could understand the difference between what is real and not is not real.

Parrots With Computer Skills

This study produced the current understanding that the Kea treats the real and the virtual – or unreal – world as the same thing, continuous and equivalent realities. While these tests might seem to be a useless endeavor, it, in fact, provides the first realization that that virtual stimulus can become a powerful tool in testing all avian species. The birds could not recognize real and virtual differences, but they could be trained using virtual puzzles and rewards. This could help train avian species to understand more in the future with computerized programs. Amazingly, these Keas learned to use a touchscreen computer by licking the virtual object on the screen.

For now, researchers continue to explore the actualized intelligence of parrots and other avian species. This and other emerging tests discover increasingly important and informative data as they pertain to the mind and intent of a bird that expects a specific result from an action. Intense testing such as this one will give us a more effective understanding of the parrot’s ability to interact with its environment and, subsequently, to survive a changing world. In the future, we can learn if birds ever stop acting like “naïve realists” and become able to differentiate the real from the unreal. That will move the bird into the next realm of intelligence and open newer vistas of understanding for dedicated researchers. Here is a link to a video that shows just how these Keas participated in this study.

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider: The Familiar And The Rare—Bird Species Avian Vets Have Treated

October 12, 2021 by Laura Doering

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider—

Date: Friday, November 12, 2021

Special Time: 11:00 am PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Dr. Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will talk about the top 5 bird species she treats most often, and the top 5 rarest bird species she has treated. Your Avian Vet will see many of the same species every week. The familiarity with these species can be helpful, even though each case is unique in its own way. On the other end of things, your Avian Vet sometimes sees an uncommon and even very rare avian species as a patient. Cases like this can bring their own set of challenges, especially if this is the first time the Vet has encountered a particular species. Find out what species are treated day-to-day, and how treating a rare species might be different, in this insider’s view of the daily happenings at your Avian Vet’s clinic.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 

Webinar: The Grey Way: Home For the Holidays! Pet Bird Safety Tips With Lisa Bono, CPBC

October 8, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: The Grey Way: Home for the Holidays! Pet Bird Safety Tips with Lisa Bono, CPBC

Date: Friday, November 5, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and operator of The Platinum Parrot and a certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, presents Episode 6 of The Grey Way, a Lafeber Pet Birds Webinar Series focusing on Congo & Timneh African grey parrots as pets. In this episode, Lisa will talk about keeping your bird safe amidst holiday revelry. The holidays can bring family gatherings, festive decorations, decadent foods, seasonal spirits and all of the additional sounds and loud noises that go with festivities. All of the things that can make the holidays a celebration for people also bring anxiety and dangers for our pets. Greys can be especially sensitive to all of these sudden changes. Lisa will discuss how to prepare and protect our pet birds during the holidays. She will help us know how to still have a good time with family and friends while keeping the stress to a minimum for our birds. While Lisa’s advice will address Grey-centric concerns, the information in this webinar can help all pet birds. Let’s get ready for safe & happy holidays!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 


Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A With Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

October 7, 2021 by Laura Doering

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A with Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

Date: Friday, November 19, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PST (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian), will answer your questions about pet bird health, nutrition, care, and behavior problems. Is your bird’s problem health-related or behavioral? Are you offering the right foods to your pet bird? Ask the Vet!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:


Crafty Cockatoos Make Their Own Utensils

October 6, 2021 by Matt Rowe
Goffin's cockatoo sitting on branch
Goffin’s cockatoo. Photo by RoyBuri/Pixabay

In the effort of living, humans have discovered that crafted tools were essential to making life better. With new tools, things that were difficult became easier. As time progressed, tool-crafting became more sophisticated to better achieve the desired result. That’s the extended history of mankind. Some animals have created tools to make their own lives easier.

People who study parrots and other exotic birds have found that they are able to exercise extraordinary talents in the mode of thought and execution. Recently, we’ve read of cockatoos in Australia teaching themselves the art of trash bin lid opening. The scientific community that centers on birds has closely observed many species, watching them find creative ways to do things.

Cockatoos Creative “Workarounds”

Aviary experts have long observed Goffin’s cockatoos working around problems to achieve an end. These cockatoos have been known to use cardboard strips as a tool to reach for food. They were able to modify the length of the strip if it was not long enough to do the job intended. Other methods of toolmaking and use of tools by these cockatoos have been witnessed and notated. Goffin’s Cockatoos are not habitual tool makers. But if something needs to be done, they don’t shy away from the task.

Recently, it was discovered by biology researchers that some Goffin’s cockatoos observed in the wild have created effective tools with which to eat. This study team works in the Tanimbar Goffin Lab, located in Indonesia, specifically on Yamdena Island within the Tanimbar Islands network. Their main study is the Goffin’s cockatoo, which is endemic to the islands. They keep tabs on the livelihood of the birds, their activities in the wild (and in captivity to better understand behaviors), and their population, which is NT (Near Threatened). The birds in captivity are eventually released to the wild after a time. But what they have been discovered doing this time is incredible.

A few years back, some researchers had found fruit on the ground that had been extracted by the cockatoos. The fruit was identified and brought back to the captive birds to watch their behavior on the extraction of seeds from the pit of the sea mango fruit. Clear access to the seeds within the pit is a difficult thing for birds. The researchers soon witnessed a cockatoo creating a tool with a small branch by making a wedge-shaped implement used to pry the pit open. It then fashioned a sharper tool to pierce the skin that housed the seeds. Then, the cockatoo formed a third tool that was used to make a spoon of sorts to scoop out the seeds to eat — the prize after all of that.

Only two of 15 captive cockatoos fashioned the sets of tools despite all being given the exact same setting. This pointed to the incredible intelligence of the birds who effectively used the tools to get to the seeds. But cockatoos are observant and mindful — as in the case of the Australian cockatoos with their developed lid opening skills. The likelihood that others may soon learn this skill set in the wild is strong as they have the intelligence to achieve it and a history of doing so. There has already been evidence of tool manufacture by cockatoos in the wild that has not been witnessed.

This tool-making study was written and published in “Current Biology.” What this study underscores is that this kind of tool-craft, once the exclusive practice of primates, is now known to be in the domain of birds as well. If you wish to investigate further, follow this link for the “Current Biology” journal entry along with an impressive video and detailed artwork.

I’m sure that those of you who have a Goffin’s cockatoo at home have your own amazing stories to tell of your bird’s abilities to make things happen.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Bolivia And The Blue-Throated Macaw

September 28, 2021 by Ann Brooks
blue-throated macaws
blue-throated macaw pair; photo courtesy CLB Foundation

We are returning to Bolivia this month to highlight another organization that does important scientific work to support endangered species, CIESA – the Endangered Species Research Center. CIESA is the first Research Center in Bolivia in the Beni region to gain approval from the General Directorate of Biodiversity and Protected Areas. It is not easy to form non-governmental organizations in Bolivia, so this is an important recognition for the Center’s work. CIESA specializes in research and conservation of parrots in the wild, and specifically, those critically threatened like the blue-throated macaw.

I have just returned from two weeks in Bolivia as part of a Phoenix Landing ecotour. We had the privilege of seeing several psittacine species. Some are common and doing well, like the canary-winged parakeet and the severe macaw. Other parrot species are more challenged and even endangered, like the red-front and blue-throated macaws. Conservation is absolutely essential to their survival. A highlight of our trip was visiting CIESA and meeting with its leadership and seeing their efforts first-hand. They have a long road ahead but they are determined and committed to the mission of improving the blue-throated macaw population.

red-fronted macaws
red-fronted macaw pair; photo courtesy CLB Foundation

Bringing Back the Blues

In concert with the CLB Foundation, which we highlighted in February 2021, CIESA is working toward establishing a breeding program to reintroduce blue-throated macaws back to the protected area of Gran Mojos–Loreto. There are an estimated 50 blue throats in the area now, but more is needed to ensure the survival and genetic diversity in Gran Mojos. CIESA currently has seven individuals that will be part of this future parenting and reintroduction program. CIESA does a great job of caring for these individuals while awaiting the arrival of future parrots from several international locations. Importing the needed individuals to pair up for breeding is filled with administrative challenges, but the goal is to have this program in operation very soon.

Meanwhile, the birds on-site are being maintained with extreme care in preparation for their future role as parents to birds that will boost the wild population. They are fed a diverse whole-food diet, provided expansive enclosures, and there are two veterinarians at CIESA to ensure their health and well-being. The future offspring of these individuals may be critical to the survival of the species in the region! One of CIESA’s most important current needs is medical supplies, including a microscope. This will help the veterinarians provide regular wellness checks for these mission-essential future blue-throat parents.

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes toward the purchase of a microscope and medical supplies, in concert with a donation from the Phoenix Landing ecotour participants.  If you would also like to help, you can make a donation to Phoenix Landing and note that it is for Bolivia/CIESA.

CIESA link: https://www.facebook.com/CIESABolivia

CLB link: https://www.facebook.com/CLBFoundationBolivia/

Phoenix Landing: https://www.phoenixlanding.org/donate-today.html

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A With Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

September 21, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: Ask The Vet: Q&A with Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

Date: Friday, October 29, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian), will answer your questions about pet bird health, nutrition, care, and behavior problems. Is your bird’s problem health-related or behavioral? Are you offering the right foods to your pet bird? Ask the Vet!

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 


Webinar: Avian Bornavirus Part 2: A Review And More With Dr. Susan Orosz And Dr. Robert Dahlhausen

September 21, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: Avian Bornavirus Part 2—A Review & More with Dr. Susan Orosz & Dr. Robert Dahlhausen

Date: Friday, October 22, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for this very important FREE, live webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guests, Susan Orosz PhD, DVM, DABVP (Avian), DECZM (Avian) & Bob Dahlhausen, DVM, will provide a brief review on Avian Bornavirus(ABV) and how it can affect our various parrot species. The doctors will then expand on the information from the first ABV webinar, including more about diagnostic testing & treatments. They will also address questions that were pre-submitted by viewers. In order to provide as much information as possible, we will not be taking live questions.

Dr. Orosz and Dr. Dahlhausen want to help all pet bird owners have a better understanding of this disease, as well as clear up any myths or misconceptions about it. If you have a question about ABV, please submit it as soon as possible to [email protected] with ABV Webinar in the subject line. The doctors need time to review the questions ahead of time so they can address as much of the information as possible. We recommend viewing the first ABV webinar before attending this one.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 

 

 

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider—Road Trip! An Insider’s View Of A Veterinary Conference

September 21, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider—Road Trip! An Insider’s View of a Veterinary Conference

Date: Friday, October 15, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), will talk about her experiences at the most recent ExoticsCon – an annual Veterinary conference that brings Vets & Technicians from all aspects of Exotics Medicine together to share new findings and interesting cases. From Scientific Sessions to Hands-On Labs, the specialized Vets & Techs are learning the latest in Exotics Medicine in order to provide the most advanced care for your Exotic Pets. When not in classes, these professionals are networking or visiting the exhibit hall where they can find out about new equipment, food, supplements and more to help their Exotic patients. What is a Hands-On Lab or a Poster Competition? Learn these answers as well as the importance and significance of Veterinary meetings and how they benefit you & your pets, during this insider’s view of ExoticsCon.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:


Webinar: University Vet Insider—Teaching, Treating, And Research With Dr. Joerg Mayer

September 20, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: University Vet Insider—Teaching, Treating & Research with Dr. Joerg Mayer

Date: Friday, October 8, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest Joerg Mayer DVM, MS, DABVP(ECM), DECZM, DACZM joins us from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine where he works in Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Teaching Hospital & Zoological Medicine Service. The often hilarious and always entertaining Dr. Mayer will talk about his experiences with treating Exotics, which includes parrots and other bird species as well as exotic mammal & reptile species. His work includes research, new advances in Avian & Exotics Medicine, and teaching the next generation of Avian & Exotics Veterinarians. Join us for this fascinating look into what goes on at a University Vet College & Vet Hospital – interesting cases, how new medicines and treatments are discovered, and how important specialty Vets are for helping our exotic pets live better & longer lives.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 


 

Webinar: The Grey Way: Keeping It Clean–Tips And Techniques For Maintaining A Healthy Environment for Pet Birds with Lisa Bono, CPBC

September 20, 2021 by lafebercares

Webinar: The Grey Way: Keeping it Clean–Tips & Techniques for Maintaining a Healthy Environment for Pet Birds with Lisa Bono, CPBC

Date: Friday, October 1, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter)

 

Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and operator of The Platinum Parrot and a certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, presents Episode 5 of The Grey Way, a Lafeber Pet Birds Webinar Series focusing on Congo & Timneh African grey parrots as pets. In this episode, Lisa will talk about how to keep your cages & play stands clean to provide a healthy indoor environment for your pet birds. Whether you have one bird or a multi-bird household, cleaning doesn’t have to be a difficult chore if you establish a routine and good husbandry practices. From safe cleaners to keeping the indoor air healthy, Lisa will share tips to help you save time, making your life easier and giving you more quality time with your birds. She will explain why too much cleaning can be a health concern and where to draw the line between too clean and “call the cleaning police!” While Lisa will address grey-centric concerns, her cleaning lessons can help any pet bird owner.

Missed our webinar? No problem! You can access the webinar in its entirety here:

 


Kea Parrot With A Broken Beak Finds Ingenious Way To Preen

September 15, 2021 by Matt Rowe

A hallmark of life is the ability to make things work despite a debilitating condition that works against the norm. As humans in an advanced technological age, we have crossed great distances in making life easier for those that are in need. A missing leg or arm can be “replaced” with strong titanium prostheses. And while they don’t replace the original, they are excellent and can be optimally worked with. Animals with missing parts have been helped by the utilization of 3D printing and other helpful things. But honestly, a lot of the work must come from the individual. That includes animals and birds that have become debilitated by unfortunate accidents.

Meet Bruce, The Innovative Kea Parrot

In a published report for Nature in their Scientific Reports journal, the story of a disabled kea parrot comes to light. The 8-year-old kea (estimated age) located in New Zealand was discovered in 2013 as a young bird by researchers of kea parrots. His upper beak was found to be mostly missing. The juvenile was captured and taken to a facility where he was brought back to sustainable health. The injury is thought to be a result of being caught in a trap designed for other creatures. The kea was named Bruce by the staff and kept at Willowbank Wildlife Preserve in an aviary for his protection.

In 2019, a keeper witnessed Bruce using an edged pebble from the pathways in the aviary to preen itself. Without the upper part of his beak, necessary and effective preening is difficult. Researchers were alerted and Bruce became an immediate subject of observation. Parrots using tools to do work they are unable to achieve easily is an important study as it reveals to us that a parrot can adapt like a primate could.

A New To Preen

The researchers watched to ensure that the use of a selected pebble to clean its feathers wasn’t an accidental one-time thing. Over the course of nine days, they watched and recorded Bruce continually selecting appropriately shaped pebbles, fit them into his mouth between his tongue and lower beak as a wedge, and use them to move along his feathers to clean them of embedded dirt and embedded parasites.

Tests were created to become assured that Bruce was deliberate in his selection and use of pebbles in preening. If this were his doing, then it was clear that Bruce was being innovative in his actions. It was discovered that in near 95% of the time Bruce picked up a pebble, it was unmistakably being used for the specific purpose of preening his feathers. Bruce had taught himself a trick, thereby successfully overcoming a terrible debilitation and living a fuller, more satisfying life because of his intelligent display. For Bruce, this was a unique display as none of the other Keas in the aviary replicated the process. But Bruce had a need to innovate where the other birds had no need.

To further validate the learned trick, more videos were recorded that showed Bruce reacquiring a dropped pebble or selecting a different one to continue with the preening. Bruce had effectively proven to researchers that Keas are capable of self-care by use of tools if it were necessary. Since Bruce is unusually challenged, this display speaks volumes of the thought processes of a bird and the ability to overcome problems. Bruce the Kea did not always use a pebble to preen but when he went for a pebble, that is exactly what it was used for.

Lafeber could not be any prouder of Bruce and his abilities. And we’re equally proud of researchers discovering how to make the world a better place for our beloved birds.

You can read a more in-depth report of Bruce and the study of his use of rocks and implements here.

The community of living things find ways to exist in a difficult world. Bruce is one of those

The Macaw Society’s “Foster Program” Is Just One Way It Helps Macaws In The Wild

September 5, 2021 by Matt Rowe
scarlet macaw sitting on branch
Scarlet macaw. Photo by rebth1st/Pixabay

The story of declining populations of exotic bird species is a well-known one. But it is still a sad reminder of a changing world. As humanity continues to find the need to branch out in lands that were once occupied by wild animals and hosts of wild flora, the habitats of so many things become more threatened. Over decades of declines, some extraordinary people have taken it upon themselves to encourage governments to protect, and upper-echelon schools to study, new ways of helping ease, if not eradicate, the rapid population and growth declines we see today. So far, we have been lucky to create unique science to help our remaining birds (and other things) to adapt in a dense world. One such program is The Macaw Society.

A Society To Save Macaws

The Macaw Society is a project at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Located at the Schubot Center for Avian Health within the campus, this study has been ongoing since 1999, when it was then known as the Tambopata Macaw Project. The design of the program is to preserve the Macaw species from extinction and to learn about the ecological changes that work against the Macaw. The team of scientists are led – and have been since the beginning – by Dr. Donald J Brightsmith, and Dr. Gabriela Vigo-Trauco. It is their study and teamwork that produced important advances in the understanding of the evolution of the ecology in the Tambopata region of Peru and other areas that are faced with the decline of exotic birds. In this new decade, it becomes more important to explore the stubborn resistance of macaw conservation on a global basis where it is really needed.

Over 20 years of studies, the two doctors and their highly qualified teams of student scientists have worked in southeastern Peru and have produced nearly 40 scientific papers. They studied the use of clay licks, discovering that they are a valued source of dietary sodium, and not a means to naturally protect from dietary toxins as once thought. They have determined that clay licks are especially used during breeding seasons. There are other branches of understanding that have come to light concerning the handling of chicks by the parents. Essentially, the Macaw parents heavily favor the first chick, with declining care for other chicks hatched. This means that the third and fourth chicks largely become ignored and are much more likely to perish as a result.

With advancements in understanding based on the information gleaned from a decade of study, The Macaw Society is learning to help chicks that are given low parental priority by assigning the neglected chicks to foster parents. Cameras were placed in nest boxes to watch which chicks were being ignored. By removing second, third, and fourth chicks and giving them to adult macaws that have lost their own due to various reasons, the scientists gave these chicks a new chance at life.

Dr. Gabriela Vigo-Trauco, who engineered this study, removes threatened chicks from nests and keeps them for approximately 22 days, or until their eyes open. Once that occurs, the chicks are then placed in different nests and adopted by macaw parents that have no chicks. The first 28 chicks extracted and replaced were all accepted by their “foster” macaw parents and survived to fledge. This study greatly enhanced the opportunity for the declining macaw population to grow in important numbers.

A Facility In The Works

Texas A&M’s Schubot Center for Avian Health is in the stage of constructing a new $3.2 million dollar aviary expressly designed to house, observe, and work with a wide range of exotic birds. Its facilities are state-of-the-art for all manner of study and preservation. It will include an isolation area for the study of avian infectious diseases, quarantine areas for incoming birds, laboratories, and teaching facilities.  Their work in avian sciences is as important to the world as all other labs and scientific study arenas that are in existence. It is with studies such as these that we may finally come to fully help threatened birds become more adaptable and therefore greater in numbers in the wild.

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